Life is More Than a Game
by Orpheus Kidwell
Summary: Life is more than just fun and games you know. The afterlife... that's an entirely different story. Gamer SI. Starts in Skyrim, but planned to be a multidimensional, world-hopping adventure. Current World: Harry Potter
1. Chapter I: Or is it?

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Hello all! So, I know I've been... noticeably absent for quite some time. Then again, it happens almost seasonally at this point, so I'm sure no one even noticed. Anyways, I've been hard at work trying to find something to write that I actually enjoyed again, in the little spare time I have after work. I finally decided to give in and just try my hand at a Gamer SI. So far, I've had a fun time writing.**

**What brought on this particular story, you might ask. Well, I ended up being recommended to read Gamer's Guide to Necromancy by Black Wolf Shiro. It's a bit smutty for my tastes, but I generally liked it. So, you could say that this is kind of inspired by that story. There's probably a number of aspects of my Game's system that are heavily similar to his as a consequence of it being fresh in my mind though. I think I've distanced myself from his enough to not be a copy, especially since I won't be including any lemons at all. Though maybe a harem. Undecided as of yet.**

**Anyways! My writing, as always, will speak more for me than an A/N ever could, so I'll just let you read it!**

**Chapter I: Or is it?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any copywritten material in this story. Please support the official release.**

**Congratulations! You have been randomly selected as a trial run recipient of our Deluxe Reincarnation package, complete with an all-expense paid trip through the multiverse and The Full Gamer Experience – sponsored by Mountain Dew.**

Uh… what? What's going on? I can't tell where the voice was coming from. Or where anything is, really. I can't see anything at all. Or feel anything.

**As I've already mentioned, you have been pre-selected to be our trial recipient of our new Deluxe Package. Given your recent death, the conditions to run this trial have finally been met! I'm sure you're as overjoyed as we are to finally help ready this process for the public. It's so wonderful to add someone new to the team!**

Deluxe Package? Death? Trial run? What… what in the actual Hell are you talking about? I try to open my mouth to say something, but that feeling of no feeling hits me. It's not just that I can't feel anything, I can't even feel _my own body_.

What's going on!? Am I really dead? I… I can't remember anything. If I try really hard flashes of… something… come to mind. Heat… the color orange… screams… a fire, maybe?

**Oh, don't worry about that! **The voice was far too cheerful for my liking. **Your body will need to be remade thanks to that pesky office fire that killed you and most of your co-workers, but we have a process for that. It actually works out in our favor extremely well since it means we get to try out our new and improved Physical Appearance Improvement Nexus. Isn't that great? Before we get to that though, we need to make sure you're compliant and calm. Why don't we take care of that little annoyance of an emotional breakdown?**

**[Gamer's Mind] (Passive) added.**

**Allows you to view life as a game. Emotional and psychological maluses are nullified and HUD is unlocked.**

**[Gamer's Body] (Passive) added.**

**Allows you to experience life as a game. Your body only requires 30 minutes of rest to become completely rejuvenated.**

**[Observe] Lv. 1 (Active) added.**

**0 MP**

**Gain insight into whatever is currently targeted. Information gained is increased at higher levels.**

**[Observe] allows you to gain insight into whatever you aim your senses at when activated. Gain more insight at higher levels.**

As the voice finishes, several… pop-ups fill my vision. That's the only way to describe them. Rectangles of light and text informing me of whatever the voice has done and what their effects are. I think. My worry over having died recedes, but not because I feel calmer. Even as that thought appears, I _do _start to feel calmer. Whatever that voice is, has to be responsible for this. I've never been very emotional, but this is ridiculous. I'm not even allowed to feel negative emotions anymore?

**They'll only get in the way, so it's much better this way! Just trust me. You'd go insane like the first three guys otherwise. **I didn't like how I could almost _hear _the far-too-happy-to-actually-be-real smile the voice probably had. **Now, let's begin, shall we? Our system will outfit you with a base to work from and you can just use your imagination to change things. Here's a mirror too!**

That feeling of not feeling and the darkness both disappeared all at once, which was not a pleasant experience. Everything went bright white and I was forced to shut my eyes, which hadn't been there a moment ago, against the blinding light. On top of that, my entire body felt like it was simultaneously burning, freezing, constricted, and open as I had to get used to things like temperature and air pressure again.

**Are you quite done screaming now? I think you're being a bit melodramatic.**

I hadn't even realized that I was shouting until the voice brought it up. Controlling myself, I shut my mouth, slowly opening my eyes. Then that feeling of not calm but still calm washed over me once more when I finally saw my reflection in the mirror. What was allowing me to see it though? The confusion really set in deep, considering my body had the same plastic consistency of a window manikin. That, of course, included the lack of facial features like eyes, ears or a nose. In the end, I decided it was better that I just not worry about it, after all.

**Now that you're focused, let's begin! Our new and improved system is quite easy to use, you know. All you need to do is visualize what you would like each part of your body to look like and the Nexus will take care of the rest. Go on, give it a shot.**

At the voice's urging, I did so. Starting with my eyes, I watched as the plastic-y essence of my 'face' began to push inwards; with flesh, blood and nerves forming in a rather grotesque way. All at once I wanted to turn away, if that was even possible, and to keep watching out of morbid curiosity. After a few moments, that felt like hours, it was finally done and I had a pair of blue eyes looking back at me. It looked rather… uncanny when contrasted against the paper-white plastic of my form. Thankfully, despite the system's acronym it wasn't painful at all.

**That's more of an unfortunate consequence of the naming than an intentional abbreviation. Our marketing team has been trying to figure out a better name for weeks, but nothing really comes up that does well in focus groups so it will have to stick for now. It looks like you're getting the hang of it though! Keep it up and we'll be able to move forward with the process in no time!**

The cheery attitude of that voice was getting a bit creepy, but it's not like I could do anything about it. So I just ignore it in favor of shaping my appearance further. It's not like you get to decide on your looks down to a hyper-specific level every day, after all.

Watching all of my body parts being shaped and grown from this plastic-looking body is certainly an experience I don't think I could ever forget, even if I wanted to. And by God, do I wish I could forget watching my spherical head being ground down to shape my nose, or the lower half of said head slowly ripping apart as I finally opened a mouth I didn't have before. How I had been screaming just moments - or maybe hours? - ago was beyond me. Nothing about this makes any sense, but I suppose that's just the way things are.

I don't know how much time passed, but I finally finished my 'character creation' and was content with it. Generally speaking, I've never spent much time on making a character. In fact, I'm more likely to just take one of the stock options so I can dive into the game then and there, with the exception of a rare roleplay run. Still, I think I'm okay with what I've done here. Nothing over the top: black hair that falls just over the top of my ears, those same blue eyes, a lean build to my physique, and an olive tan. I took extra time to ensure all of my teeth were just how I wanted them – I do not want to have to deal with adult braces, if they even exist wherever I end up. My only complaint is the lack of clothing, but at least this place (wherever I am) seems to be a nice, cool temperature that's about as comfortable to stand in as I could hope for.

**Ah, it seems that you're done. That's very good. Now we can get to the fun part! **The mirror disappeared into the all-white limbo world I was in. Finally focusing on my surroundings, I looked around and felt Gamer's Mind force me into serenity again. There was nothing anywhere. All around me was whiteness. If not for the fact that I could feel it beneath my feet, I wouldn't even know for sure whether I was standing on solid ground or floating through a void. I'm starting to see why the first three people went insane.

**The second one didn't even make it this far, you know. **The voice informed me. **Enough about them, though. Now it's time that we filled out all the proper paperwork. **I couldn't help but let out a sigh at that. Paperwork? I've had enough of that to last a lifetime. **Nonsense! Paperwork is the lifeblood of any organization. Plus, I'm sure you'll enjoy this!**

Before me materialized another one of those slightly translucent and floating text boxes. This one was much larger than those before and looked more like a job application than a notification. Looking through it, I began to notice some stark differences though. Some parts were inconspicuous enough: name, age, occupation, things like that. Then there were things like race, class, specialization, perks, flaws, and things like that looked like they fit better on a D&D character sheet.

"This is the paperwork? How do I fill it in?" I can't help but wonder. I thought that my voice might sound raspy, considering I hadn't had a pair of lungs, throat, or mouth up until just now, but it sounded perfectly healthy. That was a welcome relief.

**Simply think about the section you'd like to fill out and a new screen will appear, giving you your options. A quick [Observe] and you can see some details about your choices. Think carefully! Your path here will determine the base you need to work from throughout your entire journey!**

Nodding my understanding, I decided to start where all forms should, with my name. I mean, that wasn't really that difficult. My real life and my escapist fantasies always had a line drawn between them, and I'd just use the me from the latter. Orpheus Kidwell, seems like you finally get to have your time to shine, for real this time.

From there most of the mundane stuff was easily taken care of. My age was set to 21. No matter where in the multiverse I ended up, that should be a good place to start, and it gives me plenty of time to enjoy myself… if enjoying myself is an option. There's a lot of dangerous worlds out there, after all. My gender is set to male. My sexuality is set to heterosexual, though why that was part of it I'm not too sure. My race is set to Homo Sapiens Sapiens. There are some other options, but considering humans have the most consistent treatment across everything I've ever seen, I'd rather not be an elvish slave or a Twi'lek prostitute.

Then came the less mundane options. These are the one that I actually had to put some serious thought into considering that these choices would decide my fate, if what the voice said was true. I had no idea where I was going to end up, so I had to be very pragmatic with my selections and take up what would be the most universally useful. So I started with occupation, which seemed to be my background. After a quick **[Observe]** I was given a couple of choices, but quickly narrowed it down to five.

**[Occupation: Soldier]**

**Thanks to your experience on the field of battle you are far more in-tune with your instincts and combat ability. You gain an additional 15% experience with [Fighter] classes and start with the [Combat Instincts] ability.**

**[Combat Instincts] (Passive)**

**In combat situations, you are better at surviving. This decreases reflex save checks by 10% during combat.**

**[Occupation: Mercenary]**

**You used to be a sell-sword or maybe you still are. Either way, you are 5% better at haggling and gain a 10% experience boost with either [Fighter], [Mage], or the [Rogue] class type, whichever one you started with.**

**[Occupation: Artisan (Blacksmith)]**

**You were apprenticed to a blacksmith in your home village for many years, picking up the tools of the trade. Crafting with hard metals gives 10% additional class experience and skill checks become 10% easier.**

**[Occupation: Scholar]**

**You grew up either locked tight in a library or under the tutelage of a university and learned how to learn. All experience gains are increased by 5% and you start with one free [Lore] and [Knowledge] perk.**

**[Occupation: Merchant]**

**Your family plies its trade by buying and selling wares, and you've been made privy to the tricks that make a good shopkeep. All prices (buying and selling) are 15% better, barter checks are 5% easier, and you know how to find merchants willing to fence stolen goods.**

It all came down to whether combat or practical skills were more important. Unfortunately, there weren't really any magic-based occupations, otherwise that probably would have taken priority. The mercenary occupation was the closest. Still, I was really leaning towards the last two. After a moment of thought, I finally decided and Merchant filled in my Occupation slot. I always roleplay as a merchant anyways, and having a background in accounting has to count for something if I start a business, right?

The voice has been eerily quiet since I began this process, but I ignore that fact in lieu of my next big option. There's only three choices this time. My class has to be either fighter, mage, or rogue. The choice is extremely simple. Or so I think. After I decide on mage, a second screen pops up titled 'Specialization'.

**[Elementalist] [Illusionist] [Summoner] [Cleric] [Druid] [Warlock] [Bard]**

Well, I could immediately cross Cleric, Warlock, Bard, and Illusionist off my list. I didn't really feel like serving a god or a demon, so there's no way I was going to rely on their power. By the same token, I wanted to be at least somewhat self-sufficient, so starting as a support class like illusionist or bard would be a really bad idea.

Of the other three, it was somewhat more difficult. That said, I marked Druid off. Convening with nature and having a pack of wolves to protect me and eventually being able to shape-shift into a magical bear sounded fun, but I like civilization and its perks a bit too much to be a mountain man.

That left the ability to manipulate the forces of nature through my spells or the ability to summon inter-dimensional beings to do my bidding. If I had an army of summons to protect me, I could probably more safely delve into other arts and command them rather than get up close and personal. On the other hand, creating tornadoes of fire sounds pretty badass.

What the hell! Looks like I'm gonna go elemental magic. Hopefully I can pick up some summoning magic later.

**[Class: Mage] Acquired.**

**+3 INT and +3 WIS each level. XP from spellcasting increased by 25%.**

**[Sub-Class: Elementalist] (Lv 1/100) added.**

**A specialized type of mage that focuses on manipulating the forces of nature, especially elemental energies. +2 INT and +2 WIS each level. XP from elemental spells increased by 25%.**

**[Elemental Magic (Novice)] (Passive)**

**You have some basic knowledge of elemental magic. You can learn spells from scrolls and books so long as they are [Elemental].**

**[Fireball] (Active) added.**

**15 MP**

**Launch an explosive ball of fire at a target for 25 damage. Deals an additional 20 Explosive Splash damage to nearby targets. Will ignite the target, dealing an additional 2 damage per second.**

**[Raise Stone Wall] added.**

**25 MP**

**Raise a wall of nearby stone from the ground to protect yourself. May be repaired at a rate of 1 MP per 2% condition.**

**[Ice Spike] added.**

**15 MP**

**Launch a spike of ice at a target, dealing 40 damage. Has a high chance of critical hit and does extra damage to limbs.**

**[Vacuum Palm] added.**

**10 MP**

**Creates a vacuum in the user's palm. Will draw a targeted object or person towards the caster.**

After I finished that up, the screen closed, to my immediate confusion. "Um… I wasn't really done with that. There was still a bunch of other things left."

**Worry not! You input is not necessary for all of them! The rest of it will be filled in as you make your journey. This paperwork is for us too. There is just one last thing before we push forward and you end up in the first of many destinations in your afterlife. There are a couple of systems we're thinking of possibly integrating into our Full Gamer Experience. Would you be interested in acting as a beta tester for those as well? There is, of course, a signing bonus should you accept.**

**[Choose Your Path!]**

**We are offering you a once in an after-lifetime opportunity within your once in an after-lifetime experience! There are several experimental systems that we would like to test, and should you accept to do so, you will be rewarded handsomely with free XP, currency, a number of potions, and an epic-class item. There is no penalty for rejecting the offer besides the missed opportunity!**

**[Accept] [Decline]**

I looked at the screen with a little suspicion but sighed. Getting a couple of early game boons could make things a lot easier depending on where I ended up. And based on the information provided it couldn't really hurt to take the offer, so sure. Let's do it.

**(5)*Large XP Potions added to the inventory**

**(5000)*Currency Tokens added to the inventory**

**(10)*Large HP Potions added to the inventory**

**(10)*Large MP Potions added to the inventory**

**Drought of Strength added to the inventory**

**Drought of Dexterity added to the inventory**

**Drought of Constitution added to the inventory**

**Drought of Intellect added to the inventory**

**Drought of Wisdom added to the inventory**

**Drought of Charisma added to the inventory**

**Drought of Luck added to the inventory**

**Epic-Class GachaToken added to the inventory**

Scanning over the list, the last item catches my attention. "Gacha token? Um…." I'm interrupted by the Voice overhead.

**And with that, welcome to your new and improved afterlife Mr. Orpheus Kidwell! I hope for a long and fruitful partnership with you!**

For a moment, everything went black and I was a little afraid I'd lost my body again. There wasn't anything to be afraid of though. Slowly opening my eyes, I looked around at a vaguely familiar scene. I was sitting, but moving outside. There was a slight creaking of wooden wheels moving over a dirt path and I tried to figure out where I'd seen this mountain and forest scenery before. I went to grab the seat behind me so that I could balance myself and look behind me, but I soon realized that I was bound at the wrists with thick rope.

"Oh, you're finally awake. You got caught at the border, like the rest of us. And the thief over there." Oh fuck… Divines help me.


	2. Chapter II: Rocks Fall, Everybody Dies

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter II: R****ocks Fall, Everybody Dies**

I literally tuned out the Nord as soon as he finished his opening line. There was no reason to pay attention to his words. I'd heard them a thousand times over a thousand games. Okay, that might be an over-exaggeration, but not by much. Right now, all I could think about was what being dropped off in this world, at this time, in this particular body meant for me. When I was making my character, I didn't think I'd be stuck as the fucking Dragonborn of all things. This was so bad in so many ways.

Okay, okay, calm down. This is fine. This could go well, right? I just have to make it through Helgen and escape. Sure, I have to defeat a world-rending super-dragon in order to ensure that I don't poof out of existence, but this is still fine. I'm the Dragonborn. Plus, I've got some completely unknown system as well thanks to The Full Gamer Experience. Well, first off, I've got a solid ten minutes before anything actually happens, so let's see if I also have access to the Skyrim system.

Focusing a bit, I bring up my inventory. Instead of the more familiar list that this game usually had, it was a grid system, 6 wide and 12 tall. There was no carry weight and it seemed like the pages went on forever. Okay, so that's one less thing to deal with.

What about the perk trees? Despite my focus, nothing actually appears. Just thinking about the concept of _perks _does do something though. It brings up an empty page labeled **[Perks and Flaws]**. I don't actually start with any, but the Voice said that it would fill up over time. Perhaps I would gain things through quests or actions then? Either way, that meant that I probably was stuck in a familiar world and a completely unfamiliar system. I would just have to adapt then.

**Orpheus Kidwell**

**Level 1**

**Race: Human**

**Class: Mage**

**Sub-Class: Elementalist (Lv. 1/100)**

**Occupation: Merchant**

**HP: 11****8**** (****3.8****/min)**

**MP: 12****8**** (1.2/sec)**

**STR: 8**

**DEX: 9**

**CON: 8**

**INT: 16**

**WIS: 12**

**CHA: 9**

**LCK: 6**

Out of curiosity, I wanted to see if I could pull up my character information. I'm not sure whether my stats are good or bad yet, and I probably won't be able to tell until I actually get into a fight or have to suffer through a failed check. Besides, the moment I'm free of bondage, I'll probably drink those stat potions I got. I'll get a free 10 points into every stat thanks to opting-in on the beta program. That should hopefully make the early game a little easier.

My thoughts are interrupted as the cart finally comes to a halt and we're commanded to leave one at a time. Ralof disembarks first, being checked off the list. Then goes Lokir. He runs off just like I remember, quickly being filled with arrows in his back. I don't recall him being shot so many times in my playthroughs. Or there being quite so many people in Helgen. I guess without engine limitations, the world is more full. Noticing my surroundings for basically the first time, I realize that there are more Imperials _and _Stormcloaks here. Does that mean that the keep will be harder to push through than I remember? I'll have to be very careful who I choose to follow, then.

"You're a long way from the Imperial City. What're you doing in Skyrim?" I hear Hadvar comment. It looks like I'm being mistaken for an Imperial. That suits me well enough, I suppose. I wonder if I'll get access to their racial abilities? I don't seem to have access to anything else from this world, so the odds are pretty slim. I'll need to survive this little tutorial first before I worry about that. "What do we do, Captain? He's not on the list."

"Forget the list. He goes to the block." I'm quite happy with the knowledge that that bitch will be burning alive very soon. I mean, I never did like her when I played, but hearing the nonchalance in her voice at dooming an innocent to execution in person brought that dislike straight into loathing.

"By your orders, Captain. I'm sorry, I'll make sure your remains are delivered to Cyrodiil." At least Hadvar seemed genuine. That decision was getting harder. Whomever I chose between Hadvar and Ralof, the other one would die. "Follow the Captain, prisoner." He instructs me. I can see the reluctance in his eyes, but he is a soldier after all.

I did as I was told and followed after the Captain. I don't remember her name. Does she even have a name in the game? I don't know and, frankly, I don't think it really matters that much. As I join up with the rest of the group, I can see General Tullius condescending to Ulfric, but I just tune things out again. I know how this is all going to go, so I'm better off using this time for something more productive.

I take the opportunity to open my inventory and use observe on the items I got from opting-in to the beta. As I look through the descriptions, I begin to think that accepting the offer was a very good idea. The XP potions don't add a static amount of experience, but 5 levels worth of XP to whatever my currently equipped class is. It's tempting to shoot up in level, but if I save that then I can potentially get much more XP than using it early. On top of that, the 'currently equipped class' is an interesting bit of info. That means I'll be able to unlock other classes later and switch them out at will. I wonder how that works?

Besides that, other things are pretty much what I thought. My potions heal 85% of my max HP and MP respectively. The droughts give me 10 extra points to whatever the stat is, so that's a free 70 points to my stats. The Gacha Token draws from a gacha and guarantees an epic-class or higher item or companion. I wonder what the different classes are though? Epic clearly isn't the highest rarity, but I don't know whether it's the second highest, or the lowest and the naming convention is purposefully obscuring. Without any foreknowledge, it's really going to be difficult getting used to the system and all its quirks.

As I finish up, the headsman lobs the head off of the first Stormcloak. What wonderful timing. "Next, the renegade from Cyrodiil!" That annoying woman singles me out. I knew she would, but it's no less terrible of her. Leveling a glare at her, I hear a loud roar. It's not the first one, but this one is much more noticeable than before.

"There it is again. Did you hear that?" Hadvar is next to me and seems to be amongst the few people who picked up on it. The Captain's lack of awareness is going to cost her. At least, that's what I tell myself.

"I said, next prisoner!" She demands. I shuffle over to her, feeling my murderous intent towards her being quashed by Gamer's Mind, but only just. Kneeling down, I feel her foot press into my back and force my head onto the block. My lips quirk into a smile as I hear the third roaring. The Imperials and Stormcloaks shouting in confusion is nice as well. That joy quickly goes away as I see Alduin land on the tower before me.

Shit. That's what I have to fight? Oh boy, this is going to be… terrible. This is going to be the absolute worst. Alduin Shouts, and I'm sent flying a few feet just as the headsman was ready to swing down. Vaguely, I can hear Ralof calling for me to get up. Thank you for the advice. It's much appreciated.

As I rise to my feet, I'm greeted with a pop-up.

**[Quest: Unbound] added.**

**Helgen is under attack by a dragon. Escape with your life.**

**Rewards: 1000 XP, 1000 Gold, [ID Create] unlocked**

Huh. That's new. I will definitely take gold and XP for completing quests. Don't mind if I do. Quickly making my way to the tower that Ralof is in, I struggle with my bindings a bit. I know that I'll get rid of them with time, but they really are uncomfortable. I wonder if I can just put them in my inventory?

Welp, looks like that's actually something I can do. Rolling my wrists to get feeling back in them, I join up with the Stormcloaks in their tower. "Jarl Ulfric! What is that thing? Could the legends be true?"

"Legends don't burn down villages." Alduin's continued screeching above us really tests the limits of Gamer's Mind. I keep calm though. I finally have feeling in my wrists by the time Ralof instructs me to follow him up the tower. I follow, and make sure I'm far enough down the stairs that I won't be in any sort of danger when Alduin breaks through the top of the stairs.

After another shout and some fire, a couple of the Stormcloaks in front are dead. Looking through the hole it left, Ralof instructs me to jump into the second floor of what's left of the inn and that we'll meet up later. Two jumps and I find myself on the floor again. I'm back near Hadvar. "Still alive? Keep close to me if you want to stay that way. Gunnar, take care of the boy. I have to find General Tullius and join their defense."

I don't waste time in following after him. We stick close to the wall as Alduin barbecues more Imperial soldiers, melting their armor to their flesh. The stench of the town really is something awful. Burning flesh is definitely in my top five worst things I've ever had the displeasure of smelling.

It isn't much longer before we reach the keep. Ralof is there, as I expected. The two argue for a bit. Ralof is called a traitor. All things I knew would happen. Then comes my choice.

**Choose Your Path!**

**[Join Ralof]**

**Rewards: Reputation with Ralof and various other people when [Unbound] is complete. Lowered Reputation with Hadvar.**

**[Join Hadvar]**

**Rewards: Reputation with Hadvar and various other people when [Unbound] is complete. Lowered Reputation with R****alof****.**

Well, that doesn't really change my decision. I'd already decided a while back that I was going to join under General Tullius and stamp out the Stormcloak Rebellion. I really want Ulfric's sweet coat. So, I follow Hadvar into the keep and get the notification of my path being chosen. I like Ralof, but I like not dying even more.

Once we enter the keep, I instantly recognize the room as a sort of barracks. It's quite a bit bigger than I remember, with twenty or so beds. Each has their own chest at the end. There's also a couple of weapon racks near the doorway. "Looks like we're the only ones that made it so far. Was that really a Dragon? You're out of your bindings, it seems. Look through some of these chests. There's bound to be some gear for you. I'm going to see if I can't find anything for these burns."

"Right, of course." I don't argue and start my search. I keep one eye on Hadvar as he searches through a cabinet. I assume he's looking for some health potions. After I go through what I can from the chests, I have quite a bounty. I ended up storing everything in my inventory, knowing that the chest near the door is where I'll find what I really need. There's several casual outfits, a couple of cloaks, some alcohol, some potions, a dozen or so books, a decent amount of septims and some jewelry now in my possession. Then I get my armor from the last chest.

Heading over to the weapon rack, I take a sword and shield. Even if I'm a mage, at least having a way to defend myself in close quarters combat is a good idea. I attach the scabbard to my waist and sheathe the blade with a click. I know that I should be a bit more awkward with all of these things, considering I've never worn armor or handled a blade in my life, but I suppose this might be one of the side effects of Gamer's Body.

**[Imperial Light Armor] Set bonus activated.**

**As long as you have Imperial Light Helmet, Armor, Bracers and Boots equipped, 10% increased reputation with Imperial soldiers, jarls affiliated with the Imperials and holds that are Imperial aligned give you 10% better prices.**

That was unexpected, but welcome. I wonder if Whiterun counts as Imperial aligned? "You ready?" Hadvar asks. I still can't tell if I've just been popped into the game, or if the game is a real world and I just happen to have a HUD and UI. For the sake of caution, I'm going to assume the latter. I give him a nod and he unlocks the door to head deeper in. As he does, I get another notification.

**Entering Dungeon [Helgen Keep]**

**Objective: Kill 10 Stormcloaks**

**Optional: Keep Hadvar alive**

**Optional: ?**

**Optional: ?**

Well, that was a bit unexpected. Still, objectives are quite nice. I assume killing 10 Stormcloaks means that I have to actually do the killing and not just hide behind Hadvar. And that optional objective is interesting. Can Hadvar actually die here? If that's the case then I think it's safe to assume that this isn't a game. I just happen to have a HUD and UI. Hadvar is real. Ralof is real. That Captain is real. Most importantly, Alduin is real.

Heading into the stone hallway, I know that a battle is coming. If the increased numbers in Helgen and the barracks are any indicator, there's likely to be an increase in combatants throughout this entire dungeon. Quickly, I pull out that Drought of Intellect and drink it. I'm going to need all the spell power I can. There's not really a boss here, but I still can't help but feel a sense of urgency.

Hadvar gets to the gate. "Stormcloaks up ahead. Maybe we can reason with them." He states optimistically. I highly doubt that. You just had them bound and ready for execution not even five minutes ago. Any semblance of civility left far before that.

I keep the sword sheathed, but feel somewhat secure with the shield strapped to my left arm. Even as Hadvar opens the gate, I ready a spell. The Stormcloak corpse off to the left shows me there's been fighting already. Yep, there's no way that we're getting out of this peacefully. Hadvar is the first through the door, but I'm the first to fire. That's quite literal as a Fireball jumps from my hand into the head of a seated Stormcloak with a two-handed battle-ax in his lap. The smell of burning flesh and his agonizing screams both fill my senses as he hits the floor.

Usually, there would only be two of them in this room. However, there's actually four this time. One's already down, and the other three are on their feet and focused on us. Hadvar gives me a look, but I ignore it. I have objectives to fulfill and my own back to watch. As one of the Stormcloaks rushes us, I cast **[Raise Stone Wall] **in front of her, tripping the woman. Her sword leaves her hand and slides across the room as I shoot an ice spike into her head as well.

Hadvar then moves forward, his own sword in hand as he clashes with one of the remaining men, who has a mace. The other man rushes at me with a greatsword. I raise my shield up to block the downward slash and wince as I lose 20 HP just for blocking it. I pull back from the exchange and launch an ice spike into the man's shoulder. He yells in response, but doesn't seem to slow down. There's a health bar above his head that shows he lost a good chunk of HP, probably about 30%, from that spell. When he lunges at me, I raise another wall, this time for its intended purpose. His sword gets about two inches in before being stuck.

Seeing my chance, I lower the wall back into the ground and launch another fireball. This one is aimed right at his face. With his sword stuck in the ground and him trying to pull it out, there's no time left to react as I melt his helmet to his head and end his life as well. Looking at my MP, I grimace at the fact I'm left with only 30. Taking that Drought of Intellect was certainly a good call. Looking over at Hadvar, I see that he's finished off the maceman, flicking the blood off of his blade.

"Do you have something in particular against the Stormcloaks? There's not many soldiers I've seen attack one of the Rebels with such ferocity without even offering a word unless it was on orders." Hadvar asks me.

"It's not that." I offer in exchange, pointing to the corpse that was here before us. "They weren't going to listen to reason no matter what we did. That man likely arrived before them and was killed by one of your comrades. If they knew him, and there's no reason to suspect they didn't, then they were waiting here to draw blood. The first man I shot was sitting down. They weren't trying to escape, they were here to pick off survivors heading in."

**+5 Reputation with Hadvar for impressing him with your assessment (15/100)**

"Hm… that makes sense. You would make a fine addition to the Legion. Have you thought about joining up? I'm sure that you would be accepted quite readily." He asks me.

"I'm not so sure about that. I'm a merchant and a scholar before anything else." I respond as I look at the corpses. "However, I'll think on it a bit." My first instinct is to search these corpses and take all that they have for myself and stuff it into my inventory, but I get the feeling that the Keep could come crashing down on us at any time since this isn't actually a game.

"Let's get going." Hadvar seems to be thinking along a similar path as he opens up the next gate. "There has to be a passage out through the dungeons, if it exists at all. I don't like visiting the torture chambers, but it's a task that must be done."

I nod and follow after. I can come back here after I ditch Hadvar in Riverwood. Everyone else should either be dead or have run far away from here by then. Unless the Keep really _does _collapse completely. In that case, then all of this loot will be gone. The XP is pretty nice though. Three kills and I'm already up to level 3. Of course, considering there's probably no such thing as a level cap in this 'game', that might not mean much. But hey, my stats are going up at least.

As Hadvar walks in front of me, I manage to down the rest of my Droughts. The extra levels replenished my HP and MP, which is quite nice. But I noticed that they didn't do that until the battle was completely over. Looks like using level-ups to restore myself in the midst of battle isn't an option anymore. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

We finish walking down the stone steps and end up in a hallway with a door. At the end of the hall, I see several figures, but can't make out their uniforms in the darkness. Of course, it doesn't really matter. If I remember correctly, then…

Even as I'm thinking about it, I can hear Alduin's roar from above and watch those unfortunate souls being crushed by a cave-in. "Damn, that Dragon doesn't give up easy." Hadvar comments. Just as I'm about to say something, the two of us hear voices through the door next to us. I can't quite make it out, but the thick Nord accent is easily detectable. Sharing a look, Hadvar opens the door and we walk in to see a group of Stormcloaks looting through the Imperials' supply room.

"Cover me with your magic. I'll try and catch them by surprise." I nod and count the group. There's only three this time. They don't seem to have noticed us yet and continue to argue. Hadvar finally strikes. His sword goes through the soft armor of one, piercing his lung. As he pulls out, the man collapses. With their attention on Hadvar, I cast two spells. A fireball to the chest of one of them and a stone wall raised to protect Hadvar from the explosion. The one I hit is launched into the sacks of grain in the back. The other one gets knocked into the wall I formed. Both are still alive, but not by much. Hadvar finishes the one closest to him, while I send an ice spike towards the one in the grain.

"I wonder how far these Stormcloaks managed to get. Still, they had the right idea. There should be some potions around here somewhere. See if you can find them. We should have time for that at least. I'll guard the door over there to make sure no one else comes."

The storeroom is set-up in an L-shape. That means that Hadvar shouldn't be able to see me stuffing things into my inventory. With that in mind, everything from the corpses of those men to the furniture and the sacks and barrels of food goes inside. I'm going to take full advantage of having no carry weight. I'm not sure when I'll be able to off-load these supplies, or if I'll need to use them, but there's no way I'm not going to utilize an infinite pocket dimension. Also, I find the potions he mentioned.

When I come back around the corner, Hadvar already has the door open. "Are you ready? Let's head out then." Taking a moment to recall the next two places where fighting will take place and my optional objective, I stop Hadvar and give him two of my HP potions.

"You're getting up close and personal. You'll need them before I will. If you go down, then I probably will as well." He takes them gratefully with a smile and then continues to lead me through the keep.

**+1 Reputation with Hadvar for giving him supplies (16/100)**

We're finally coming upon the dungeon soon. Another level-up meant I was in good condition for the next fight. Still, I did notice something while I was adding stuff to my inventory before. One of those pieces of jewelry I found in the barracks was an Amulet of Akatosh, so I equipped that before I came back to Hadvar. An extra 25% MP regeneration is extremely welcome.

"Do you hear that?" Hadvar asks. He drew his sword and rushed down the path towards the sound of fighting. As we pushed forward, we found the torturer, his assistant and two Imperial guards fighting six Stormcloaks. They didn't look very happy at having found some of their brethren dead in cages. The torturer was using streams of electricity to keep them at bay while his guards clashed with the Nords. Without help, there's no way they'd survive.

I was right behind Hadvar and launched an ice spike into the back of a larger Nord that was about to strike the assistant. He keeled over, dropping his weapon as his life force left him. Hadvar went to help one of the guards. With a second mage here to reinforce, two of the Stormcloaks rushed towards me. I sent another fireball at the feet of one of them, sending him flying into a wall and rose a wall in front of the second, taking some satisfaction as he slammed into it. His frame was large enough that it cracked and I wasn't about to reinforce it.

The remnants of the obstacle fell to the ground in chunks to reveal the angry and bloody face of a Nord who wanted me dead. The feeling was mutual and I sent a fireball at him to showcase that. It hit his chest and sent him flying into another one that was going to stab Hadvar in the back. I am _not _going to lose out on potential quest rewards.

By this time, the one in the wall had gotten up, though his HP was very low. An ice spike through the stomach finished him off and let me turn my gaze towards the two that were on the ground. Sending a final fireball at them, I watched as the corpses were sent even farther through the room and crashed into the back wall. It was right next to the hallway that I knew led to the cells. There were no more targets left by the time that was finished. I didn't mind since I got pushed up to Level 5 and replenished everything. On top of that, I got a nice little notification.

**Level 5 Elementalist r****ewards acquired.**

**[Lightning Bolt] (Active) added**

**30 MP**

**Launch a bolt of lightning at a target. Deals 4****0**** HP and MP damage. Extra damage if target is wearing metal armor.**

**[Blade of Wind] (Active) added**

**20 MP**

**Launch a blade of wind through the air. Deals 2****5**** HP damage. May be ignited.**

**[Water Prison] (Active)**

**10 MP/s**

**Create a bubble of water to lock a target in.**

**[Cold Touch] (Active)**

**15 MP/s**

**Channel Cold energy through an object. If it is a weapon, add an addition 10 Ice damage to it as long as the spell is active. If it is an armor or shield, add 10% fire resistance as long as spell is active. If it is an enemy, deal 20 Ice damage/sec while spell is active and inflict [Shiver] status for up to 10 secs after spell ends.**

So, does this mean that I'll get extra spells added to my repertoire every so often just for leveling up? If that's the case, then that's pretty nice. Skyrim's spell choice, quite frankly, leaves a lot to be desired. I wonder if there's a spell creation system anywhere here?

** There is no in-universe spell creation system here. We decided not to mess with the Nords already fragile acceptance of the College of Winterhold.**

I was beginning to think that you had disappeared and I was on my own in this game. Can I just ask questions and you'll answer them then?

**You can ask, but I can't say whether or not you'll always get an answer! You are making great progress though. It seems like a good idea to have picked a world that you're so familiar with! Don't get too overconfident though, as the Board did make some alterations to keep you on your feet.**

Board… like a Board of Directors? Are you a god or a corporation? The silence that met me was a bit unnerving, so I decided to get back into the thick of things. Joining back up with Hadvar, I see that the Torturer and his assistant are both alive and well.

**[Optional Objective: Protect the torturer and his assistant] completed.**

**Rewards: 100 XP, 100 Gold, +5 Reputation with the Imperial Legion (5/100), Common Gacha Token**

Well, I guess that takes care of one of those objectives I didn't know about. I wonder what the other one is? Whatever. I guess I'll find out when it comes around. As I get closer, I can hear Hadvar trying to tell the torturer that we're being attacked. I let him do that and snoop around the room, finding a mace and a heavier shield than the one I have equipped in the back room. The mace goes into my inventory and the shield to my arm. It's got some more weight to it, but nothing I can't handle. A little more searching nets me a dagger and a couple of lockpicks. The books I'll leave until later.

I come back out just as Hadvar finishes up his conversation, no one seeming to notice my looting. The torturer, as expected, refuses to come along. His assistant and guards, on the other hand, are more than willing. As we're getting ready to leave, though, Hadvar notices a corpse in one of the cages. "Do you think you can get inside here?" He wonders. "He might have something useful for us."

"Oh, yes. Take all of my things." The torturer sarcastically quips. I walk to the cage and look inside. I could probably use vacuum palm to get the spell tome, potion and gold, but that outfit will be a little harder. Thinking a moment, I grasp onto the bars tightly and cast **[Cold Touch]**.

Mist begins to rise up from the rapidly freezing metal. After a few seconds, I let go and bash my newer, heavier shield into it and watch as it shatters. With the lock non-existent, I open the cell door quite easily. I'm not a thief and I have _no idea _how lockpicks work. It takes a bit of work, but the corpse loses his clothing and I get some nice bonuses from their enchantment. 30 more MP is nice, but that 50% faster MP regen is even better. Especially when combined with my Amulet of Akatosh. With a rumble overhead, I decide to ignore my rule of not showcasing my abilities.

With a thought, the robe and hood are equipped. My armor and helmet go straight into my inventory. I do lose the Imperial Light Armor set bonus, but I'm not too concerned about that just yet. Hadvar looks at me a bit strangely, but doesn't say anything. He's probably not that familiar with magic and just accepts it as a spell. The spellbook and mana potion go into my inventory while I toss the gold over to Hadvar. I've already got quite a bit, so 25 pieces isn't going to affect me very much.

"Let's get going." I suggest as I walk towards the hall of cells. I don't lead though. I'm a mage, I need to stay in the back. Plus, this next room we go in is going to be filled with more Stormcloaks than we've fought so far combined, if the ratios continue as they have been. Hadvar takes point with the other three behind him. The assistant has a sword and shield. The guards have a greatsword and battle-ax respectively. This should work out, I think.

"There's no way out that way, you know." The torturer comments snidely as we leave. Is that what I usually sound like to other people? No, I'm not that bad.

We move past the cells quietly, then down a ramp. This takes us to a room full of corpses suspended in what look like human-sized bird cages. Human-sized might not be the best description though. They're large enough for a human to barely fit in if they curl up in an upright fetal position. The Stormcloaks were right to be angry at him, but it _is _wartime. Gamer's Mind is really quite helpful, honestly.

As we make it to what would be the end of the room, there's a large hole in the wall. Alduin's rampage has finally been helpful to some degree. Readying myself, I take a look at my MP and notice that it might not be a bad idea to drink that MP potion I just got. Downing it quickly, I smile at my once more full bar. Alright, time to kill some rebels.

Through the hole we travel into a cavern with torches lining the walls. Straining, I can hear voices arguing. "Hadvar, do you hear that?" The soldier nods, his sword ready. Our group pushes forward and comes to a corner that turns into the larger room that the Stormcloaks are gathered.

"Where in Oblivion are we supposed to go? There's no way out!"

"Give me a moment, I'm thinking." Hold on. I recognize that second voice. Isn't that Ralof? He's not supposed to be here. The voice did say that some changes were made, but this is one I didn't think of. Gamer's Mind keeps me calm enough that I can roughly figure out what that second unknown optional objective was. Hadvar peeks around the corner a moment and turns to us.

"I can count at least six. However, I think there might be more that I can't see. We have the advantage of surprise, so let's use it. Any ideas?" I think quickly over what I actually can do. I know that there's some oil slick on the other side of the room, if that hasn't been changed. That doesn't necessarily help right now though. On top of that, this is the first place where enemies have bows. That means that I'm not as safe at range as I have been thus far. If Hadvar sees six, there's probably at least ten. They have a numbers advantage, but there shouldn't be any mages amongst them.

"I can hit them with a fireball or two if they're clustered. They have an explosive shockwave when they strike an object. You'll have to be quick to kill whoever can get up and also watch out for anyone in the room that I can't get to from here." The other four share a look before nodding. It's our best option, after all.

Peeking around the corner, I note that the four of the six Hadvar saw are grouped pretty closely. I haven't been noticed yet, so this should be fine. Forming the fireball in my hand, I launch it at the biggest of those four, watching his HP drop pretty drastically. The explosion isn't quiet, and neither is the sound of four grown men screaming as they're launched through the air in opposite directions. As soon as I threw the fireball, my Imperial bodyguard – as I'd started thinking of them as – rushed forward.

I was not far behind them and launched an ice spike at the other guy I could see that wasn't Ralof. Ralof recognized me and seemed to single me out specifically as he rushed forward. Sorry guys, looks like I'm gonna have a mini-boss on my hands already. Observing Ralof, I note that his HP is pretty high, floating just above 350. Mini-boss is right.

"You really are with the Imperials then! I should've left you there on the ground when the dragon attacked." He sneered as his ax was raised high. I raised a wall in defense to try and halt him. He smashed into it with his shoulder reducing its condition to half in one blow. Launching a fireball at what was left of the wall, I watched him fly backwards. It gave me a little room to breathe and also managed to set his armor on fire.

Slashing my index and middle fingers in his direction, I launched a blade of invisible wind at him as he stood back up. I was really hoping that Naruto rules applied here. My expectations were greatly exceeded as the blade ignited against his chest, causing an explosion of energy that shattered the armor beneath and significantly dropped his HP.

Deciding to end this before he could recover, I form a Fireball and a Lightning Bolt in either hand, launching both of them at him. Ralof becomes very dead as soon as they hit. As I thought, a notification then pops up.

**Hidden Objective [Defeat Ralof] completed**

**Reward: 100 XP, 100 Gold, +5 Reputation with Hadvar (20/100), Common Gacha Token**

I really do need to see what this Gacha system is about whenever I split ways with Hadvar. Before that though, there's still some Stormcloaks left and I'm in charge of support. I count two archers near the oil slick and one Nord fighting each of my guards. The first move is pretty obvious as I launch a fireball at the oil. The archers scream in agony as they're engulfed in flames. They probably won't die from that though, so I also send a blade a wind into the blaze. They're definitely dead when I do that.

**Primary Objective [Kill 10 Stormcloaks] completed**

**Reward: 100 XP, 100 Gold, [Enemy of the Rebels] perk, uncommon gacha token**

**[Enemy of the Rebels] added**

**Deal 10% extra damage to the Stormcloak faction, f****aster**** reputation ****gain ****with all enemies of the Stormcloaks, lose reputation with the Stormcloak factio****n**** faster**

I quickly dismissed that notification and tried to find a good time to aid the others. Unfortunately, I wasn't actually certain that I could do anything without accidentally hitting one of them. Some magic missiles would be pretty nice right now.

**Magic Missiles are non-elemental, and would require taking a different class! **The voice helpfully told me. **You are not allowed to take any other classes until your primary class has reached Level 25 and you cannot take an additional mage class until you have maxed out Elementalist. **That sickly sweet tone never left, but I was getting used to it at this point.

So, I can take what… one fighter and one rogue class when I reach level 25 Elementalist?

**Yep! You also will be free to take one artisan class at that time. You can't take artisan as your primary class though. In prior testing sessions when someone did that, they usually ended up dying horribly! Therefore, we've removed the option as a precaution.**

I'll have to remember that. Being able to craft things would be nice. I didn't even think about that sort of thing until the voice mentioned it. As the other four finished up their battle without my need to intervene, I made my way to the doorway. I ended up getting up to level 8 from my contribution, so that was pretty good. I'm not too sure what the formula for XP is, but it seems to be quadratic, if not exponential. I'm not sure when levels will start being harder to come by, but it probably won't be too long at this rate.

The others get to the doorway with me after the fire put itself out. "Let's see where this goes." Hadvar instructs as we make our way into a passage. There's a conveniently placed lever that lowers a bridge into the cavern I know will lead us out. The Torturer's Assistant hangs back a bit.

"We'll stay back and keep the old man safe. That's our post anyways. Make sure you send have them send some support back here in case we can't convince him to leave." Hadvar nods and I stay quiet. I'd say that he would regret that decision, but I'm not sure if he'll even live long enough for that.

Hadvar and I make our way across the bridge. I make sure my pace is a bit faster than usual to force him to keep up. Moments after we make it onto the cobblestone stairs, large boulders come down on top of the bridge we just walked over. Hadvar turned around and looked at what had happened. "I guess there's no going back that way." He calmly assessed. "I'm sure the others will find another way out. We have to keep moving." Out of curiosity, I observe him.

**Hadvar of Riverwood**

**Level ****1****5**

**Race: Human**

**Class: F****ighter**

**Sub-Class: L****egionary**** (Lv. ****1****5/100)**

**Occupation: S****oldier**

**S****tatus: Shell-Shock**

So he's calm because his emotions haven't caught up to him. Well, that's pretty fair. I urge him to move forward to try and keep him busy. The cobblestone walkway turns into stairs which lead straight into a creek running through the cave. We have two paths, but I already know which one leads to safety, so I lead the way. I really don't want to get crushed in a cave-in over a few gold pieces and a potion.

Hadvar seems to have recovered a bit by the time we make it to the spider cave. "You alright?" I ask him. After a moment he seems to acknowledge that I'm even talking before nodding. "Look, we won' t be any use to any survivors unless we make it out and get word spread about the attack. I don't think that the Holds are used to Dragon attacks nor do they have defenses set up."

"No, no. You're absolutely right. I'm sorry about that. I've just never been that close to death in all my time in the Legion. I don't even know if that chamber we were just fighting in caved-in or if it just was the doorway."

"There's no time to worry about that. I get the feeling that we're close to finding our way out, so we should do so quickly. If we get caught in a cave-in then who's going to tell anyone? We already killed the Stormcloaks in the Keep. We're the last people that can inform the local Jarl." That seems to clear the cobwebs from Hadvar's head and he nods. "Now, get ready. I think the Dragon might've woken up something nasty."

As I say that, I point up to the webbing in the cave's ceiling. Half a dozen frostbite spiders lower themselves from their home with red eyes gazing at us. Hadvar pulls out a bow and begins firing upon them as I launch a fireball at the ceiling. The fire quickly spreads across the web and to the silk strands connected to the arachnids, burning them as well. Unable to move, they can't do anything as Hadvar makes well-aimed shots in the center of their skulls. I grin as my level moves up to nine and give him a light slap on the back. "We'll make it out of this, just you wait."

**+11 Reputation gained with Hadvar for bringing him out of his funk (37/100)**

I wonder if this reputation with Hadvar will actually get me anything. I mean, I don't mind either way since I don't like seeing him so out of character, but it would be interesting if there was.

**There is, actually! At both 50 and 100 Reputation or Affection, you will get rewards relating to the NPC whom you've reached that level with. The first is a minor reward while the second is a perk. ****Make sure to grind those relationships with named characters and factions!**

And suddenly I feel like charisma would be a really good stat. Oh well, that's something to think about another time. For now, we move forward. Again, that venom would be really nice to have, but I'm trying to be practical right now. Hadvar is afraid of a cave-in, and so am I. So we push further into the cave system.

There's a bear in here. I knew there would be. I'm just glad it's still just the one. A quick observe tells me that its HP isn't that big of a problem. It's only 200, not even as much as Ralof. But it's much stronger in terms of both the Strength and Constitution stat than either of us. Luckily, I won't have to fight in in close quarters. "You think we should try to sneak past it?" Hadvar wonders, seeing as it's asleep.

"I'm not sure we can. And killing it would be faster." I use what it quickly becoming my favorite combination of spells. A fireball to ignite it and a blade of wind to cause an explosion of force. It goes from sleeping to knocked out as its head hits the wall. I'm informed that I've caused it to gain the **[Concussion] **status effect. I want that experience though, so a Lightning Bolt followed by an Ice Spike and it's dead. By the Gods, I love being a Mage.

"Let's get out of here." I tell Hadvar as I lead him further in until we find an opening. Light shining into the cave is all that we need to see for him to lose his **[Fear]** status. We've escaped, and the ear-to-ear grin he's wearing tells me more than Observe ever could.

**And, that's it!**

**Helgen is out of the way. It was a lot easier than I thought it'd be, but really wish it hadn't taken so long. I am actually going to shoot for 6-7k word chapters in this story. Let's see how long that actually lasts though.**

**Do let me know what you thought through the usual mediums: Reviews, PM and over on the Discord server as (slash) PWDD44v**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	3. Chapter III: Naps or Death?

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter III: Naps are Better than Death**

**[Unbound] Complete**

**Reward: 1000 XP, 1000 Gold, [ID Create]**

**Optional objective [Keep Hadvar alive] completed**

**Reward: 100 XP, 100 Gold, Rare Gacha Token**

**Path [Join Hadvar] completed**

**+11 Reputation with Hadvar (43/100), +10 Reputation with Alvor the Blacksmith (10/100), +11 Reputation with Imperial Legion (16/100)**

**Due to Ralof's death, negative reputation with him averted**

**[ID Create]**

**0 MP**

**Create a pocket dimension dungeon.**

**Current Instant Dungeons: Empty, Zombie**

**Level 10 Elementalist bonuses acquired.**

**[Burning Hands]**

**15 MP/s**

**Channel heat energy through an object. If it is a weapon, add 10 Fire damage to each attack. If it is armor, add 10% Cold Resistance. If it is an enemy, deal 20 Fire Damage per second.**

**[Stone Spikes]**

**30 MP**

**Form spikes of stone on a surface facing whatever direction you choose. They are molded into the earth as if eroded that way over centuries.**

**[Gale Palm]**

**20 MP**

**Create a gale-force wind from your palm, knocking back anything in its path. Enemies hit will suffer knockback, 25 HP of damage when impacting an object and be inflicted with [Paralyzed] for 3 seconds. May be resisted by enemies of sufficient size.**

**[Firebolt]**

**25 MP**

**Create an arrow of fire. It is fast and accurate, as well as explosive. Deal 50 Fire Damage.**

Well, that's certainly a good notification to get one step out of the cave. Several quests being completed gets me all the way to Level 11, as well. Even better is the sight of Alduin flying off into the sky. I don't know where he's off to, but as long as it's away from me then I'm quite happy. Hadvar notices it too. "Looks like he's leaving. I don't think we should stick around to see if he comes back." I nod.

"Is there anywhere we can get some rest?" I ask him. I know that he'll lead me to his uncle's home. "After everything we've been through, I feel like we've earned it." Hadvar thinks a moment.

"There's a village not far from here, Riverwood. My uncle lives there and works as the village blacksmith. He'll probably let us stay for the night, especially after we tell him what happened." It's quite a story, even in-game. Actually living through it is another thing entirely. Even with Gamer's Mind.

"Let's make our way there then. I'm not very familiar with the area. Why don't you lead the way?" Hadvar seems hesitant. "You have a different idea?" He pauses a moment longer before answering.

"It might be wiser to travel separately and meet up in the village. There could be Stormcloaks left, and it would be better if at least one of us made it to tell the townsfolk." I give Hadvar a hard look, which seemed to make him reconsider his words.

"Hadvar, with all due respect, that's a terrible idea. We just fought our way through over a dozen Stormcloaks, half a dozen spiders and a bear. A few more rebels to add to today's list of kills is nothing. We're safer in numbers. Plus, no one in Riverwood even knows me. How many Nords will listen to an Imperial spouting off nonsense about a dragon attack? I'd be disregarded as a madman. You're the one that needs to tell your uncle so that he can warn the villagers. I just need to make sure you survive until we get there."

Hadvar sighed, but smiled. "You're right. I know that you're right. I suppose I'm just shook up from this whole experience today. Let's go ahead and make our way to Riverwood." I smile back and follow behind him. My eyes are peeled for any dangers. Starting now, things are going to be a lot less scripted. Helgen Keep was something I knew relatively well, but there's no telling what could happen from here.

All I could be sure of was that a pack of wolves would attack us on our way to Riverwood. After that, my knowledge would likely only help with dungeons and certain character interactions. Open world games are a lot less linear once you conquer the tutorial section, after all.

"Listen, Orpheus. I know you already said that you aren't really a soldier, but you really proved yourself today. You should head to Solitude and join the Legion." Hadvar says after a minute or two. We're walking at a somewhat sedate pace now that the danger is over with. "I wouldn't have made it today if it wasn't for you and we could really use someone like you. If the Rebels have themselves a Dragon, General Tullius is the only one who can stop them." I can't help but laugh on the inside. No, no. Alduin will gladly kill Stormcloaks as easily as Imperials.

"I'll give it some thought. I'm not entirely sure what I want to do though. I came to Skyrim to try and start myself up as a trader, not fight in a Civil War. Mostly, I wanted to help the Legion in that capacity. Joining up myself though? The thought never really occurred to me." Hadvar nodded in understanding.

"Still, it's something to think on. If you ever do decide you want to join up, I'll put in a good word for you with the General. You deserve it, after what you did." I can't help but smile a bit. Yeah, Hadvar seems like a good choice. My only regret is that I can't bring him along as a companion.

**[For the Emperor!] added**

**Join the Imperial Legion**

**Reward: [?] perk added, [?] perk added, Reputation with various people and factions change, Start Civil War questline, [Companion: Hadvar] unlocked**

Well, that's rather convenient. It's almost like I have a disembodied voice listening in on my thoughts and shaping my experience around them.

**You're welcome!**

Still, I can imagine what the reputation changes will include. Do I really want to start the civil war questline so early though? Hm… there's some things I should probably do before that. I do think that I'll join the Imperials though. It just sounds like a good idea to me. Plus, I still want Ulfric's coat.

Hadvar stopped and pointed towards a nearby mountain where I could make out some unnatural architecture. "You see that ruin over there? That's Bleak-Falls Barrow. When I was a kid, I used to have nightmares about the place: Draugr creeping in through my window at night, that sort of thing. Even to this day, I don't really like the idea of it being so close."

**[Bleak-Falls Barrow] Location added to map**

**Hadvar is inflicted with [Anxious]**

"Aren't Draugr just a children's story to get them to go to bed?" I ask, trying to relieve his new status. I don't have anything in the way of healing magic, so it's the only thing I can do. Hadvar chuckles a bit.

"Perhaps. Aren't Dragons supposed to be the same way though? I'm not really certain what is just a fairy tale and what's truth right now." We were both silent a moment before a familiar set of rocks came into view.

"You've not been to Skyrim before, have you? These are the Guardian Stones. They're three of the thirteen ancient stones that are scattered over Skyrim. It's said that they can grant some protection to those they think deserve their power. Go ahead and take a closer look."

I take his advice. Immediately, I wander over to the Mage Stone and place a hand on it. A notification pops up.

**Would you like to add [The Mage Stone] perk? You may only have a single Standing Stone perk and this choice cannot be changed.**

I narrow my eyes at the message. That… isn't what I thought it would say. So, if I choose this then I can't get anything else, is that it? You know… I feel like I might want to wait until I find The Lover or The Atronach, on second thought.

"They're quite impressive. How do the carvings not get eroded by the elements?" I wonder. Hadvar shrugs it off, clearly never having thought about that. Turning around, I join back with him.

As we begin walking again, Hadvar seems like he's got something else to say. I don't pressure him, knowing he'll tell me when he's ready. "Listen." He starts, his tone very cautious. "As far as I'm concerned, you've earned your pardon. However, until we get it confirmed through the General… it might be best that you steer clear of any Imperial soldiers and avoid anything complicated. Alright?"

"Don't worry, Hadvar. I'll keep my head low. I don't want to have to do a repeat of today." Hadvar chuckles a bit at that and nods. "Wait, do you hear that?" As I speak, there's a low growling noise. I look up towards a rock outcropping above and in front of us, spotting a couple of wolves. Here it is.

Hadvar already has his sword out by the time I cast Fireball. A direct hit in the head kills one of them and the explosion sends two of the remaining four off the rock. Hadvar wastes no time in running his blade through them. The other pair lunge at me. I bring up my shield to knock back one, but the other manages to pounce onto me.

I wrap my arms around its throat, casting **[Cold Touch] **and **[Burning Hands]** at once. It whines, and then howls, at the pain nearly immediately, ignoring its prey in exchange for what must be the worst experience in its short life. Frost coated the fur on the left side, until it froze solid and began to spread. On the right side, fur and flesh were consumed in a flash fire. Mere seconds had passed, but the life drained from its eyes even quicker than MP from my bar.

Once I'm sure the danger is over, I toss the wolf from me. That was much heavier than I thought it was. My HP had taken a hit from the initial attack and the weight of the wolf. A moment later and Hadvar was standing over me, hand extended.

After I'm on my feet, I sigh. "Fucking hell, that was a bit too close for my liking." I notice that he's already killed the one I disoriented with a shield bash. "Have much of a wolf problem in this area?" I wonder.

Hadvar laughs at the notion. "In the area? Try a wolf problem all over Skyrim. They aren't too dangerous on their own, but the packs can get pretty big. You alright?" He looks over me and whistles. "I don't know what that robe is made of, but looks like it's not even damaged from the claws." I look down at my chest and notice that he's right. Not even a single tear. "Still, I feel like I might owe you my life twice now. You were right to keep us together. I'm not certain I could take on five of them on my own with just a sword."

I wave it off. "Don't worry about it, Hadvar. We're just looking out for each other. That entire journey through the Keep doesn't mean much if either of us dies now. I won't allow it to have been in vain."

**+11 Reputation with Hadvar (54/100) for being humble despite keeping him alive today**

**[Honor, Duty, Sacrifice] perk added**

**Reputation with soldiers increases faster**

Oh, so that's what a minor perk at 50 Reputation means. Hm… well, at least that means that it'll be easier to get Legionary Reputation up now. "What do you want to do with these?" I wonder as I look at the wolves.

"Leave them for now. If they're still here in the morning, we can drag them back to the village to skin and butcher for their pelts and meat. I'm sure my uncle can find some use for it." With that taken care of, we begin moving again. "We're almost to Riverwood, anyways.

Almost is a bit of an understatement. After we turn around the next corner, I can see it. It seems like it's got a major upgrade. I mean, it is a village that has had to survive in the harsh climate of Skyrim, so it only makes sense that there's more realism to it than I recall in the game.

First of all, there's a very large, wooden wall I can see from here. I have to assume that it surrounds the entire village. A pair of doors hang open in line with the road. It's daylight and there's no attackers, so there's probably little reason to keep it shut.

As we walk into the village itself, I notice more differences. The road that travels through the village is filled with many more buildings than I remember. This is likely a major road, since it travels straight from Cyrodiil to Whiterun. Thinking about it, Riverwood _was _pretty small for a village along what is likely a major trade route. Based on the increase in businesses along the main road, I can probably expect there to be about five times as many people here as I'm used to, maybe more. Hm… that means that there's probably some side quests to complete here. That means extra experience and gold. I'm liking this already.

As we walked down the road I could hear Sven and his mother arguing. Just the usual. She was trying to explain that she'd seen a dragon fly over Bleak Falls Barrow, he was trying to assure her that she was a lunatic. You should listen to your crazy mother, Sven.

"There's my uncle now." Hadvar explained. Alvor's house was a bit further into the town than it usually was, with three whole buildings between the gate and his workshop. I'd have to explore Riverwood a bit, it seems. I wanted to see what new shops had popped up and what quests I might partake in before moving on to Whiterun. "Uncle Alvor!"

As Hadvar called out to him, Alvor looked up from the anvil he was at. He'd been shaping a piece of metal just now. "Hadvar? By the Divines, what's happened to you?" The worry was thick in his eyes. "And who is this?"

"Please keep it down, uncle." Hadvar pleaded. "I'll explain, but we need to talk inside." The insistence in his voice seemed to convey how important it was. With a nod, he led the way to the front door.

"Of course. Sigrid will make you a plate and we can discuss this over a meal." A moment later, we're in the house and seated at the table. "Sigrid, we have guests!" Alvor announced. Peeking out from the stairs that led into their basement,the blacksmith's wife showed herself.

"Hadvar? Oh, we've been worried sick about you. What's happened?" A look from Hadvar seemed to convey that he would explain. She picked up on it with a soft smile. "Why don't I get you two some food?"

Alvor gained Hadvar's attention once more. "Now, would you please explain why you look like you lost an argument with a cave bear? And who is this?" I remained quiet, thinking it wiser for Hadvar to introduce me.

"This is Orpheus, a friend. I might not be here if not for him, actually." Alvor and Sigrid – who had returned with some food just in time to hear that – both gave me a look.

**+5 Reputation with Alvor the Blacksmith (15/100) for saving his nephew**

**+5 Reputation with Sigrid (10/100) for saving her nephew**

"You know that I was placed in General Tullius' guard. When we were in Helgen, a dragon attacked us. There was mass confusion."

"A dragon? You aren't drunk, are you boy?" Alvor eyed his nephew skeptically. Honestly, I couldn't find it in myself to blame him.

"Husband, let him tell his story." Sigrid chastised the burly man. With a sigh, Alvor nodded and gestured for Hadvar to keep going.

"There's not much else to tell, really." Hadvar confessed. "I'm not sure who is left. The two of us made it out, somehow. The way we escaped got caved in though. I've got to get to Solitude and report this in, if General Tullius hasn't already made it back. I was hoping that you could help us: food, supplies, and a place to sleep."

Alvor smiled softly and nodded. "Of course. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. I'll be more than happy to help out in any way that I can. Feel free to take what you need, within reason of course. However, if there really is a dragon, then the Jarl will need to know. Do you think I could bother you to travel to Whiterun and let Jarl Balgruuf know?"

**[A Favor for the Blacksmith] started**

**Inform the Jarl of Whiterun Hold that a Dragon attacked Helgen. Riverwood is defenseless**

**Rewards: Reputation gain with various people and factions, Alvor the Blacksmith will be in your debt**

"Of course I can do that. I need to go to Whiterun anyways, so it's no trouble at all." I assure him. Hadvar smiles in response.

"I will make preparations for my journey to Solitude and we can travel to the stables at Whiterun together. We should rest tonight and we can both spend tomorrow preparing. We'll leave the morning after."

"That sounds like a plan to me. Is Whiterun very far from here?" If the village is this large, then I'm not actually sure how far away it would be in between locations.

"It shouldn't be more than half a day's walk." Hadvar assures me. "The road to Whiterun is quite safe, so we shouldn't be attacked by anything on our way there. I'll write you a letter of introduction. I may not rank as highly as I'd like, but being a member of the General's personal guard detail is still a position that holds weight."

"Now, that's enough talk." Sigrid intervenes. "You boys eat your food before it gets cold. I'm sure you're going to want to rest up after dinner, so I'll get things prepared." She went downstairs again, leaving the three of us at the table.

Looking down at the bowl in front of me, I used a quick observe to see what it was exactly. Venison stew with carrots and potatoes actually sounded really appetizing right now and it tasted even better. A home-cooked meal after nearly dying several times over the course of a single day was the best way to wrap up my first day in this crazy world.

**[A few hours later]**

I very quickly discovered a side-effect of Gamer's Body that I hadn't really thought about. It specifically stated that I only required 30 minutes to be revitalized. I thought that meant that I needed half an hour at most to go back to full HP – which is true – but it meant something a little more. 30 minutes of sleep is equivalent to 8 hours. I was pretty exhausted after today, but after two hours of sleep, I became extremely restless.

I wasn't really sure what to do, so I ended up leaving Alvor's house at that crack of half past midnight, making sure not to wake anyone up. The village was nearly silent by this time and I wasn't really sure what to do.

If I tried to leave the village right now, I'm pretty sure that the guards would have questions. If I tried exploring the village right now, it would lead to the same conclusion. Honestly, there's not much for me to do but sit on one of the chairs in Alvor's workshop. That's fine though. I've got things to figure out until dawn comes.

The very first thing is to figure out exactly what this gacha thing is. You got anything to tell me, oh powerful voice of my corporate overlords?

**The gacha system is quite fun and addicting! There are seven levels of prizes: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Super Rare, Ultra Rare, Epic and Legendary. Whenever you get a gacha token, it randomly selects a prize from the list. Your common tokens can select from all prizes, while the Epic token will only draw from the Epic and Legendary list. A Rare token would disregard all common and uncommon prizes.**

I see. Well, I do have a number of gacha tokens after the tutorial section, so I don't see why I shouldn't use it. Let's start with the common token.

**[Fallout: New Vegas Soundtrack] (Common) added.**

**Radio unlocked.**

**Skyrim OST added due to starter world.**

I'm sorry, what? Thinking about the radio, an interface that looks eerily similar to the Spotify app pops up. Right now, there are three options. Fallout: New Vegas radio, Skyrim radio and shuffle. With a sigh, I press the shuffle button and chuckle when Big Iron by Marty Robbins starts playing. It's so out of place, but I have to admit that it _is _my favorite song from Radio New Vegas. Some background music while I play should make things more interesting, at the very least. Next up is the Rare token.

**10 Skill Points added.**

Well, that's pretty nice. Since my stats are based on class levels, getting some extra points to put into what I want whenever I want could potentially be a lifesaver. Plus, my OCD has been fucking with me considering these stupid numbers. I immediately round off everything but my intelligence and Wisdom and smile. Now I just need a little bit more and everything will be rounded off to multiples of five. Everything but my main stats are 20, with INT and WIS at 76 and 72 respectively.

Taking a deep breath, I can feel my excitement building. Now for the Epic token. Time to see what sort of stuff is in this highest tier of prizes. Well, only one way to find out.

**[Summonstone: Shiva (Final Fantasy VI)] added to inventory**

I nearly fall out of my chair when I see that. Composing myself, and hoping that I didn't wake anyone, I have to control my breath. Opening my inventory, I quickly use observe.

**[Summonstone: Shiva (Final Fantasy VI)]**

**When used, adds a spell for summoning Shiva's Final Fantasy VI form, which will use her signature Diamond Dust spell on all enemies in the area. Only a Summoner or Elementalist can use the spell.**

I don't even need to think about it before bringing the stone out of my inventory. How do I add the spell though? Even as I'm thinking that, the stone shatters in my hands. I guess you just squeeze it?

**[Summon Shiva (Final Fantasy VI)]**

**1000 MP**

**Use this spell to summon the Esper, Shiva, to aid you in battle. May only be used once per day. She will use her signature spell, Diamond Dust.**

Well, shit. I barely have a third of the required MP cost to use the spell. Okay, that's fine. There's not really anything that I would need Shiva for in the immediate future. I just need to make sure I increase my level substantially before I have to solo my first dragon. That's really what I want her for.

I spot something else in my inventory as well. It's that spell tome I got from the Keep. Bringing it out, I observe it. My eyes light up as I see what it is. A notification pops up asking if I want to learn it, which I quickly say yes to.

**[Chain Lightning] learned.**

**[Chain Lightning]**

**30 MP/sec**

**Create a continuous stream of lightning. It will jump to nearby targets and inflict [Paralyze] on whoever is being hit by it. Deals 15 lightning damage per second.**

I wouldn't be able to keep it up for more than 12 seconds, but that's a really good spell for crowd control. Clearly, MP is going to be my biggest obstacle in battles. I just need to push my class levels up higher. I think Bleak Falls Barrow will be the best way to do that. Well, maybe. There's still one more thing I need to check. Hey, HR, what's this instant dungeon thing?

**Excuse me, I am not some lowly Human Resources agent! I am the head of the Public Relations department!**

Of course, of course. How could I possibly make such an egregious error. So, what's an instant dungeon? It's quiet for a moment before the voice is back.

**The Instant Dungeon is a newer mechanic that we've been working on. Essentially, you can create an isolated space in the area you cast it. The other people will still exist, it's just you that's isolated. You'll be in the same area that you cast it. Well, more like a copy of the place you cast it.**

I see. So, if I were to cast it here then I'd end up in a copy of Riverwood with none of its occupants. Can I take things from the Instant Dungeon?

**Only partially. You can't take anything that the Instant Dungeon copied. However, any enemies you defeat may drop gold and items. On top of that, at the end of each wave, a prize chest will appear. These item drops and prize chests are the only things that you're able to take with you. Just a warning, time **_**does **_**pass while you use this.**

So, if I use it here and come back when someone is looking over here then it might cause some issues. That's not good. There has to be somewhere I can go where no one is likely to be at this time of night. Well, I guess there's Helgen, or the cave under Helgen. Still, that means I'd have to leave Riverwood.

Is there a way to do this without leaving? The wall means that sneaking off is a bit more difficult. Hey, PR Department Head, what happens when I leave the Instant Dungeon?

**You will appear back in the real world in the place where you are in the copied world, of course!**

Okay, that makes this much easier. I can enter it here and re-appear outside of the city. Wait, isn't this ability really broken though? Can't I just use this to get around security in places like the Thalmor Embassy? Oh, I'm going to enjoy this. Okay, let's try this.

"Instant Dungeon Create: Zombie." I say quietly. I don't really notice a difference, but I think that it worked. Standing up, I walk down the stairs back to the main road. A smile forms on my face as I notice a lone undead slowly making its way towards me. It's looks like it was once a peasant farmer, half of its face crawling with maggots. With a limping gait, it pushes closer to me.

**Wave 1: Start! Kill 5 Zombies to reach Wave 2.**

You know what? This seems like a really good way to spend the rest of my night. Observing the zombie, I get a small amount of information.

**Zombie**

**Level 1**

**HP: 25**

**A generic human undead. It moves slowly and can't take a hit. Dangerous in hordes.**

Well, I don't see a horde yet, so looks like danger isn't really a thing. An Ice Spike through the eye sends it to the floor quickly. The corpse turns to dust once its HP reaches 0. Well, at least I don't have to worry about confusing the dead and undead ones, at least.

Looking around, I realize that these walls are actually pretty useful. It means that I know where the zombies will likely appear and only have so many places I'll have to look. I'm just hoping I don't have to go in any of the houses to find them.

Though, I don't even have to go looking by the looks of it. The other four came to the main road after a few moments. None of them are near each other which means I can't just use Fireball. Well, they're slow and all heading towards me specifically. I could outpace them with my regular walking speed, to be honest. Standing in front of Alvor's place, I watch as they approach me. My MP regenerates before even one of them makes it halfway across the road. Well, that's fine.

I decide to just snipe them with four more Ice Spikes through the skull. They're slow and I got a bit impatient. Bringing up my character sheet, I'm a little disappointed to see they only gave 10 XP each. Well, they _are _level 1 and extremely fragile. I guess I should expect that. I bet the XP will get much better with stronger zombies and when the waves are more numerous.

**Wave 1 Complete!**

**Rewards: 50 XP, 50 Gold, Common Gacha Token, 1 Skill Point**

**Would you like to start the next Wave?**

Yeah, let's keep going. This time, the notification tells me that there's ten. Hm… is it going to double each wave? That might be interesting. It would likely get out of hand relatively quickly. Still, I wonder if there's any way I can get onto the roof of one of these houses? If the zombies come towards me no matter where I am, then that would be useful for the later waves.

My thoughts are interrupted as 10 zombie hands erupt from the soft dirt to either side of the road at once. They are each joined by a second one, before 10 decaying corpses pull themselves out of the ground. They're spaced out relatively far apart. Far enough that I can't hit any of them with Fireball and hope to get the explosive effect's use. Well, that's fine.

Feeling electricity crackle along my fingers, I extend my hand and watch as all of them convulse from my Chain Lightning. It only takes three seconds for them to fall, but I notice something worrying. I had thought that I would only lose 45 MP from that, since it says 15 MP per second. Instead, I lost almost 200 MP. Do the links in the chain actually increase the cost then?

I still have some MP left, but losing half of my MP in three seconds is _not _cost-effective. I don't know whether I could do that again, especially if the numbers really do double.

**Wave 2 Complete!**

**Rewards: 100 XP, 100 Gold, Common Gacha Token, 2 Skill Points**

Before I start the next wave, I take the opportunity to create a stone wall beneath my feet. It's just tall enough that I can step over onto Alvor's roof. I'd rather be up here as I wait for my MP to come back than down there, after all.

Just as I thought, the game informs me that there's 20 this time. It takes almost half a minute for my MP to top up. When it does though, I let loose. If they can't reach me and I can take as long as I need to recharge my MP, then this shouldn't be that difficult. A couple Fireballs and they're taken care of as well.

Just as I thought, I got 200 XP and Gold, another Common Gacha Token and 3 Skill Points. This did seem like it was a bit too easy, but that's just because I was a ranged fighter in a place that the enemy couldn't reach me, I think.

Wave 4 came and went with about the same amount of ease the previous one. Before I pushed into Wave 5 though, I increased my INT up to 80 and my WIS up to 75 to satiate my OCD. It seemed like a good idea considering I got the warning that Wave 5 is a boss round. As soon as it started, I understood why.

Gone were the shambling undead from before. Instead, they were replaced by various other types of undead. I quickly used Observe on all of them.

**Decayed Commander**

**HP 1500**

**Fire Reaper**

**HP 100**

**Armored Zombie**

**HP 300**

**Burning Skull Head**

**HP 50**

The Commander looked like some sort of samurai general. There was still flesh on his body, but not much. He wielded a katana in one hand and was probably the boss of this wave. The others had to be his mob support.

The Fire Reaper was literally just a skeleton in a purple robe that had a bow in hand. The arrows in his quiver all seemed to be on fire without burning said quiver. I'll have to assume magic is responsible there. There were five of these archers in total scattered across the road.

The Armored Zombies also wore samurai armor but had green flesh filled with cracks. Clearly, these were the Commander's foot soldiers. They numbered 15.

Lastly were the Burning Skull Heads. They had about as literal of a name as one could hope for. They were floating skulls that were engulfed in flames. I'm willing to bet that they'll try and kamikaze me as soon as I aggro them. They were the most numerous as a total of 25.

This might be a bit tougher than I originally thought. Luckily, I had plenty of potions and a decent selection of spells to choose from. Feeling magic crackle along my fingers, I couldn't help the excitement that flowed through my veins.

**Status [Adrenaline Rush] added.**

**[Adrenaline Rush] increases HP Regeneration by 50%, STR by 25% and END by 15% but lowers WIS by 30%.**

I closed the notification quickly and focused on the matter at hand. The Commander didn't look like it would be particularly dangerous. It had high HP, but only wielded a sword. Honestly, the biggest danger is the mob of Skulls. With that in mind, I cast several Ice Spikes in succession. Ten of the Skulls go down at the cost of a third of my mana. The attack paints a marker on me though, figuratively.

All eyes, whether in the air or on the ground, point towards my location now. Launching a Wind Blade forward, I manage to catch one of the flaming arrows mid-air. The shockwave sends some of the archers and soldiers to the floor but I now have 15 Skulls flying towards me at dangerous speeds.

Maybe being on this roof isn't the best idea right now. That's the thought that has me jumping to the ground. I take 10 HP damage when I land – I really need to increase my CON, badly – I run to the river that runs through Riverwood. The Skulls chase after me even when I dive into it.

So, now I'm at the bottom of the river with 15 Skulls around me, no longer on fire. They seem to have completely stopped their movement. With that in mind, I quickly swim to the surface and make my way to the bank opposite the road. A Lightning Bolt to the river kills all of the enemies inside immediately.

I had momentarily considered using Chain Lightning on them while I was inside the lake. I think the 30% hit to my wisdom is what made me even think that was a good idea for a little bit. This is a dangerous status effect, for sure.

Looking towards the road, I notice the remaining wave fast approaching. They aren't slow like the zombies. The archers have stationed themselves on five different rooftops while the soldiers are running at me. The Commander leads the charge.

Arrows fly towards me, but a stone wall blocks them. Quickly, I use one of my newer spells and form stone spikes along the other side of the river to try and break the charge when they finally get to it. The archers let loose another volley, destroying my wall in the process.

The spread of the archers certainly made things more difficult than I would have liked, but not impossible to deal with. Two on Alvor's roof, three on his neighbors. I launched two fireballs. They weren't aimed at the skeletons themselves, but the rooftop. Thanks to the physics of Skyrim, fire rose from the point of impact. It would only last a couple seconds, but I had immediately followed it up with two Wind Blades. The explosion had exactly the effect I wanted. The archers were blown back in all directions, with their clothes catching fire.

With that problem taken care of for the moment, I noted the katana-wielding part of my enemies had finally reached the spike wall. Their charge halted momentarily as they had to try and climb over the multiple layers of spikes criss-crossing. The Commander is giving orders in what sounds like Japanese. He's not climbing with them, just standing back.

As he shouts, he was surrounded by some sort of blue aura, which also surrounds the Armored Zombies. After a quick observe, I see that they have a status effect, **[Valor]**. Based on **[Observe]**, it seems to increase their speed and attack power. Right, he's a commanding officer, so of course he'd have abilities relating to making his troops stronger. I better end this before that becomes a problem.

I begin launching Lightning Bolts at them, remembering that it does extra damage to those in metal armor. Despite that, it still takes five bolts just to put one of them down. I'm only able to kill three of them before the rest get over the spikes and begin to wade through the river. At that point, I repeat my previous strategy with the Skulls. Two Bolts to the river and the remaining twelve drop. That only leaves the Commander.

Looking towards him, I notice that he has several different colored auras surrounding him. Observe gives me a pretty good understanding as to why. He lacks any mob support, but he's been buffing himself. He's got that Valor buff from before, as well as Adrenaline Rush and something called **[Avenger]**. On inspection, it means that for every ally that has been killed this battle, all of his stats get a 1% boost. Fuck.

Okay, okay. It's fine. I'm only going up against something that was five times stronger than Ralof before it buffed itself, and now it's nearly half again as strong as that. I'll be fine. I really wish I could summon Shiva right now.

The Commander then rushes towards my spikes. Quickly, I use Gale Palm. To my surprise, it knocks him to the ground. That's right, resistance on that is based on size, not stats. He even took some damage from it. While he's prone, I launch a Firebolt followed by Wind Blade. Like a ragdoll, he flew further. His health had dipped only by 10% from that, but it was definitely manageable to do that nine more times without even drinking one of my MP potions.

As he tried to get back to his feet, I launched a Firebolt and Lightning Bolt from either hand, as they were the only things that I felt confident could reach him from the distance between us. He gets pushed even further away, going back to the main road. The buildings obscure him from view, and so I'm left waiting on my side of the river. I feel like a total coward for hiding behind a river and spikes and not chasing after him, but I'm a mage with no tank. I don't really have many options.

While I'm waiting for the Commander to appear again, I'm struck by a realization. I'm clearly not prepared for Bleak Falls Barrow as things stand. My survival right now hinges on the fact that the Commander seems to lack any ranged capabilities, but both the bandits and Draugr are under no such limitations. Not to mention that the tomb is nothing but narrow halls and traps. I would die very quickly if I attempted to do anything up there. I need to get my hands on a companion or two.

As I'm thinking over who I could get in Whiterun, the Commander pops into view again. In the space of a second he's made it from Alvor's house to my spikes. He does not look very pleased.

Instead of climbing over the spikes though, he grabs one of them and rips it straight from the ground. If not for a well-timed Wind Blade bisecting it, I would definitely be crushed right now. Reacting without thinking, I electrocute the river once again. The Commander isn't killed from that, but his flesh _is _smoking now.

One of my hands casts another two Lightning Bolts to drain what HP I can while I focus on raising more spikes in the river, as well as walls. I put anything in his way I possibly can to slow him down. He's not even down to half health yet, but I did succeed in keeping him from progressing. He screams something at me in Japanese. I can only assume he's insulting my parents and cursing my ancestors.

I launch three more Lightning Bolts into the river before a notification pops up.

**Challenge: [Greased Lightning I] (Use Lightning Bolt 25 times) Complete.**

**Reward: Lightning Bolt damage increased, Rare Gacha, [Greased Lightning II] unlocked**

**[Greased Lightning II]: Use Lightning Bolt 50 times**

Well then. That couldn't have come at a better time. It looks like the damage output has been doubled from that upgrade, and that means I might actually be able to do this. That's good too, since the Commander pulled out another spike and used it to smash the wall in front of him.

I hit the water with two more Lightning Bolts before he can climb up to the bank. Getting an evil idea, I create a spike on the bank's wall, watching as it pierces through his torso. Two more Lightning Bolts and he's been destroyed.

A couple of notifications pop up at once. Firstly, I've gone up to Level 14. I have never felt like I earned any levels more in my life. Second, I am informed of my prizes for completing Wave 5. It's 2250 XP and Gold, 5 Skill Points that I immediately put into WIS so that my INT and WIS are finally equal and an Uncommon Gacha Token. The last notification asks if I'd like to start Wave 6.

You know what? I'm gonna have to give that a hard pass, Game. I'm just gonna go back to bed. Sleep is good. Sleep doesn't try to kill me.

**And that's it!**

**Things are moving forward nicely. There's still a number of things before Whiterun comes into the picture, and our poor MC may have been traumatized by the Instant Dungeon, but... at least he's earned his nap this time. Don't forget to let me know your thoughts in the usual places: Reviews, PM or over on the Discord server at (slash) PWDD44v**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	4. Chapter IV: Back to Helgen

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter IV: Back to Helgen**

When I woke up again, I was afraid that it had only been a couple of hours. Hadvar was still asleep, after all. Moving upstairs, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Alvor and Sigrid were both awake. Is there any way for me to tell the time? I don't know, a clock app or something?

**Would you like to buy the [Clock] widget for 1000 Gold?**

**Widget [Clock] unlocked**

Being able to tell the time seems pretty important, so I decided that I would like to buy it. The notification disappeared and was soon replaced by an analog clock face. Beneath that, the numbers 05:12 glowed. Huh, that's actually quite useful. "I hope you slept well?" Sigrid asked with a smile from her spot at the table. I assume they'd been talking, since there wasn't really any breakfast set out yet. The number of things they were likely talking about were a bit limited, considering the events of yesterday. "Would you like to sit?" Ah, I could see where this was going.

I took a seat, looking between the two for a moment. "Are you a part of the Legion then, Orpheus?" Alvor asked. "There aren't many Imperials here in Skyrim, but Hadvar is a member of General Tullius' bodyguard, so it might be possible." I shook my head, eliciting looks of curiosity in both of their eyes.

"Truth be told, I'm a merchant and a scholar from Cyrodiil." I mean, none of that is false. It's just that they aren't all necessarily connected. "I was crossing the border into Skyrim when I was caught up in the crossfire of a battle between the Legion and some of those Stormcloaks. I guess General Tullius got wind of Ulfric Stormcloak's location and planned an ambush. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"The Legion had Jarl Ulfric in custody when the dragon attacked?" Alvor's eyes were so wide that I thought they might pop out. "That's… the Civil War likely would've ended if they could execute him. Hold on… were you slated for execution then?"

I chuckled, remembering that Captain. "Oh yeah. The dragon was the only thing that kept me alive. One of the officers there didn't care that I was an innocent bystander. She was perfectly willing to send me to the headsman. Honestly, Hadvar seemed so genuinely apologetic about the entire affair that I decided to follow him. There was another man there that offered to let me join him, a Stormcloak by the name of Ralof. I wasn't about to become a rebel though. I'm an Imperial through and through."

I might manage to convince myself if I speak with this much conviction much longer. "Ralof? I know that name for some reason." Sigrid muttered. "Wait, isn't that Gerdur's brother? What happened to him?"

"Well, we had to escape through the keep in Helgen." I explained. "The Stormcloaks were… less than pleased to see us so soon after their almost execution. Every single one we saw wanted to kill Hadvar and I. Ralof was no exception. In fact, he wanted to kill me specifically since I ended up siding with Hadvar instead of joining him. I didn't really have much of a choice if I wanted to stay alive, so I put him down." That's strange. I know that I definitely had emotions in my voice when I was talking about Cyrodiil. Now I just sounded… hollow.

I'd have to figure out what that was about later. "Honestly though, Hadvar helped me as much as I helped him. I'm a mage, not a warrior. If it wasn't for him, I'd likely have died against any of those Stormcloaks. I actually had a couple close calls on our way here to Riverwood, but I definitely wouldn't have made it out if not for Hadvar's assistance. I'm more than happy to help Riverwood in any way that I can to pay him back."

"Well, at least you seem like a good lad." Alvor mentioned. "Do you have any plans for today while Hadvar gets everything prepared for his trek back to Solitude?" Do I have any plans? Well, I think I do, but I wonder what I should start with.

"Well, I had hoped to head back to Helgen today and check for survivors." Loot too, but that's not something he needs to hear. "I figure that Ulfric and the Stormcloaks are far away by now, but it's an Imperial fort. And survivors may very well still be there, either hiding or trapped. I'm not very skilled in healing magic, but I'm hoping that if anyone is still alive I can get more information about the dragon for the Jarl of Whiterun. Against something like that, he's going to need as much knowledge I can bring him."

"If Helgen is a smoking wreckage, it's possible that other people have gone there. Either to help or, more likely, to loot what's left. You may have to fight if it's the latter. Skyrim has had an increase in bandits, poachers, and thieves since this entire mess with Ulfric started. You'll want to be careful when you get there."

"I'd probably like to leave before Hadvar gets up. I'm afraid he'll want to come with me, but then it'll take longer for us to leave for Whiterun. General Tullius and the Jarl will need this information as soon as possible, though." The couple shared a look as I said that, Sigrid rising from her seat.

"At least let me pack you something to eat. Helgen may not be that far away, but you don't know how long you'll be. It may not be much, but I'm sure we can spare half a loaf of bread and some cheese for some vital information." Do I even need to eat? I'm not sure, but it's probably better to be safe than sorry.

"I really appreciate it, Sigrid." I thank her with a smile as she heads downstairs to their food stores. My eyes then turn to Alvor. "Do you mind covering for me with Hadvar? I don't really mind what you tell him, as long as you don't mention where I've really gone. I'll let him know the truth once I'm back, but this seems more important." The blacksmith takes a moment before nodding.

"Of course, I'll take care of it. It seems that Hadvar has made a good friend indeed."

**+5 Reputation with Alvor the Blacksmith (20/100) for showing dedication despite the danger**

It wasn't too long before Sigrid returned with the promised food, wrapped up in a cloth. I take it and store it in my inventory. At their questioning glances, I smile. "It's one of my favorite spells. I'm not that great with it yet, but I can use it to store things like a sort of magic bag and then summon it to me later. Unfortunately, I couldn't really keep my product I brought from Cyrodiil in it. I'm sure my cart has already been raided by now, so I'll just have to start over once I get to Whiterun."

"I'm sure that you'll do fine." Alvor remarked. "If you're this motivated for something as small as a stranger's request, I can't imagine what sort of effort you'll put into your trade. We'll keep a bowl warm for you tonight, but hopefully you're back well before then." I smile and nod.

"I'll be off to Helgen then. Thank you, both of you." With that, I'm out the front door. As soon as the door is shut, I open up an empty Instant Dungeon. Time to test out the other function of this ability. The System told me that my position is the only thing that transfers over when I leave one of these, so I walk down the road and out of the village. There's no way I can open the large, wooden door on my own so I just use Cold Touch.

Just like with the cell and the wolf, frost first coated where I touched. Wood quickly became solid ice that spread like a disease. Bashing my shield into the door, I watched the ice shatter. I moved through the door and walked a fair bit down the road from Riverwood before leaving the Instant Dungeon. I grinned as I realized that, yes, in fact, my theory was right. I was on the road from Riverwood to Helgen exactly where I'd left the ID. The large door was also still intact.

It wasn't really teleportation. It wouldn't even be useful for recon, since I might accidentally appear in front of someone when I exited the ID. However, it did mean that I could get into places I probably should be able to, if I utilized my spells correctly. There had to be some sort of limit to the distance I could travel from my point of origin, but I'd have to do some testing later.

Content with my discovery, I made my way down the road back towards Helgen. It would take a little bit of extra walking since the cave and the Keep were separated by an unknown amount of debris, but that wouldn't really bother me too much. "Hey, Mr. Voice, do I need to eat?"

**The Needs mechanics are still being fine-tuned due to a… previous balancing issue. One of our testers found an exploit that we attempted to patch out, but it resulted in wide-spread errors. Players and NPCs alike fell en masse, largely in fantasy and sci-fi worlds where certain foods were not accounted for in the variable lists. So, you'll be playing without the Needs mechanic for some time. Don't worry! Whenever it's getting ready to roll out, you'll be notified with our patch notes.**

I see. So, I don't actually have to eat or drink anything. I guess that also applies to things like sleep and using the bathroom. I should probably eat and sleep consistently though. Whenever the system _does _come back, I don't want to be caught off-guard.

Pretty soon I've made it to where we got ambushed by those wolves yesterday. Unsurprisingly, the corpses are gone. From the looks of things, the corpses were dragged off. There's blood trails that quickly fade up the hill and into the forest. It could've been a predator or a hunter. Actually, it also might've been a necromancer. In this world, that's actually a reasonable guess considering how much necromancy happens in Skyrim.

Ignoring that creeping thought, I pushed further along the road. Alvor's words from before rang in my ears. Helgen might have looters, alright. I had a feeling I knew who those looters would be, too. Embershard Mine has an entrance that's not too far from here. I remember the layout of it relatively well. How well would that serve me though? The Keep didn't seem to have any changes to its interior, and neither did Alvor's house. However, Riverwood and Helgen themselves had a lot of differences from what I played.

Is it just that the settlements are larger then? If that's the case, then I might have a chance of taking Embershard Mine. If not though, then I'd be going in semi-blind. Order seems like it would be important as well. Do I go to Helgen and try to take any bandits there by surprise, or go right for their base in the mine? It all comes down to whether the mine or Helgen has more people, doesn't it?

Well, either way, it's ridiculously early. The likelihood of anyone but a few people to guard the loot being at Helgen is low. I think I'll start there. If I can capture one of the bandits there, I might be able to get some worthwhile numbers about just how many people are in the Mine. That seems to be the best course of action, all things considered.

With that in mind, I quickly made my way up the road. I passed by the side road to Embershard and the Guardian Stones. Not long after, I find the trail that leads to the cave under Helgen Keep. There were a couple things there that are definitely interesting: namely the spiders and bear, but I'm not actually sure how stable the cave is. I really don't want to risk getting trapped in a cave-in. With that in mind, I ignore the trail and simply follow the cobblestone road.

When I get to a fork, I can't help but whistle at the sight of that large, stone arches that lead into Bleak Falls Barrow. "Not yet. I'll be emptying you of all you're worth, but not quite yet." I comment with an excited smirk before taking the path to the right. Helgen, or what's left of it, comes into view very quickly. Even in this dim light, I can make out the high, stone walls and the open gate. Well, one of the doors of the gate is open, the other is completely missing.

I wonder if Helgen could be rebuilt? It's in a pretty good location: halfway between Falkreath and Whiterun. Most of the walls are intact, it's just a matter of repairing the damage. It's very out of the way, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It more means that any fighting between the Legion and the Stormcloaks likely won't come near. In-game, it was never rebuilt. I'm not sure what repercussions doing that would have, but I'm sure that it would only benefit me to do so. I'll need to put some thought into it.

Potential plans for the future aside, I finally make it near the entrance. A bit of disgust makes it past Gamer's Mind as I find the severed heads of some of Alduin's victims marking this as bandit territory. Two of them planted into wooden spikes in the ground. It seems that the leader at Embershard was quick to claim this as his and wanted to keep trespassers out. Fortunately, I'm not so easily dissuaded.

**Quest [Misery Loves Company] added**

**Primary Objective: Eliminate the bandit leader**

**Secondary Objective: Clear Helgen of bandits**

**Secondary Objective: Clear Embershard Mine of Bandits**

Well, that's convenient. I don't see the rewards anywhere though. Well, I suppose it doesn't particularly matter since I was going to do it anyways. I highly doubt the leader is here in Helgen, so I'll need to take Helgen first.

Speaking of which, I needed to get a move on to try and get a jump on the bandits that were here. It wasn't difficult to sneak in through the broken door. Once inside, I had a pretty good idea where to find them. There were two towers here, but the Keep, ironically, was likely the place where they'd be. It had the most beds and was where most of the food was kept. If I was wrong, well, I'd just have to go to the other tower and hope that's where they were.

It was a bit strange that I hadn't seen any corpses yet, but I suppose the bandits cleared them out. I'd probably find them with a little exploration. That would come later though. For now, I created another empty Instant Dungeon.

I entered the barracks in the Keep for the second time in two days. Taking a look around, I tried to find a good place. I really didn't want an alarm to be raised about my arrival, so finding the best place to appear would be vital.

Well, best isn't necessarily good after all. I ended up deciding on the corner between the shelf and desk nearest the door I came in. It was right next to one of the tables, but I was relatively sure no one was sitting there. Both tables had a metal stand with four candles near them for light, but it was only the candles near the other one that were lit. With that in mind, I exited the Instant Dungeon, and prayed to Akatosh that I didn't immediately die.

Thankfully, I had played my cards correctly. I could hear some mumbling and some snoring. Most importantly, I didn't hear any yelling or screaming. My shield had been safely tucked into my inventory as it wouldn't fit in the tight space I needed to be crouched in. I felt more vulnerable without it on, but I needed stealth right now.

I could see most of the beds from my spot. There were a total of ten, and four of them were currently occupied. Based on the mumbling, I gathered that there was probably only one conscious person in the barracks, and he was at the other table. A stealth focused class would be pretty useful right now, but I might not have gotten this far if I had chosen one of the rogue classes instead.

I moved as quietly as I could, attempting to time my steps with the rhythmic snoring. The lone man at the table needed to go first. I could feel magic coursing through my fingers as I peeked around the corner. The bandit had a couple of bottles of ale on the table while he grumbled incoherently to himself.

Mentally going over my spells, I tried to figure out the best one to use so as to not make any noise. Only two came to mind. Ice Spike might be a one-hit kill to the head, but he would definitely go flying from his chair and wake up everyone else. That meant that I needed to get closer to him. Back to the ID I go, it seems.

I'm sure that this is far from the intended use of the empty Instant Dungeon. All the same, I entered it, walked just behind the chair I knew he was in, and exited. I'm sure the bandit must've noticed something when my shadow suddenly blocked the candlelight, but he was drunk and that meant his reactions were slowed.

I placed one hand over his mouth, the other covered his forehead and eyes, then both of my palms pushed as much cold energy into his skull as I could. Just like with everything else Cold Touch affected, first his head was coated in frost, then it froze solid. Ending the spell, I gently let him slump in his chair and turn my attention to the four sleeping men.

Repeating the process on the rest of them, I can't help but sigh in relief. What did the system say about the other class slots? I think it was Level 25 that they'd unlock. I'm definitely going to want to reach that as soon as possible. Having a stealth class would be really useful.

Now, should I check the rest of the Keep for other bandits or empty the barracks into my inventory first? I don't even have to think about that very long. Clearly, I'm going to loot everything in here first. It's the whole reason I came here, after all.

It only takes a couple minutes for the barracks to be emptied. Even the bandit corpses go into my inventory. Most of it wasn't too far from what I already figured I'd be getting, but one of those bandits had a hunting bow and some iron arrows. I don't really know how to use a bow yet, but at least I had one for when I picked up an archer class.

I knew there had to be more bandits though. I didn't get a notification telling me that I'd completed one of the objectives. I had to be careful as I moved deeper into the Keep. There could be only one more, or still another half dozen – if not more.

I made my way into the part of the Keep where I had my first fight and noted that there were no corpses here. Perhaps most of the corpses were burned? It wouldn't be difficult to find a fire in Alduin's aftermath, if they arrived soon enough. I decided to stash the table and chair in that room into my inventory and just head for the storeroom.

When I got there, I noted that the rocks that had fallen during Alduin's attack were still there. I didn't really think that the bandits would move them, but someone really should. Helgen would make a really good base if it was restored. It was definitely on my list of things to see if I could use it as my own base of operations.

**Ambition [Obtain Helgen] added**

**Objective: Clear Helgen of bandits**

**Objective: Gain Jarl Siddgeir's permission to take Helgen or Take Helgen for yourself**

**Objective: Rebuild Helgen**

**Objective: Populate Helgen**

**Objective: Become recognized as the Lord of Helgen**

Well, that's new. That's not a quest either. What's this ambition nonsense, Oh Great Disembodied Voice?

**Ambitions are, as you figured, not quests! They are, in fact, something that goes beyond quests! These are end goals that you have and result in no rewards like quests do. Instead, these are large-scale projects that are recognized as things you would like to accomplish. We simply lay out the steps you need to do to complete them. That said, while Ambitions are not quests, they can **_**include**_ **quests or entire questlines within them. Such as right now, for instance! [Misery Loves Company] is a quest that shares a secondary objective with one of the objectives your ambition has.**

I see. Well, that's useful then, I suppose. Having this sort of vague outline of what I need to do to complete a project is certainly a nice place to start, after all. I'll give it some more thought later, but I need to get through with clearing Helgen first.

The storeroom was also empty, it seems. Well, not really _empty_, since there was a lot of supplies, but it was empty of any bandits. I was caught between emptying the room into my inventory or continuing though. I really didn't like this feeling of not knowing whether a bandit would suddenly pop out.

In the end, I decided to go to the dungeon first. I could always take everything in the storeroom after I finished the objective. That feeling of foreboding quickly changed, though, as I heard something. It was distant at first. As I got further down the ramp that led to the dungeons though, I could make out what was definitely a woman sobbing.

Without thinking, I ran into the interrogation room and then towards the cages. Luckily, I managed to gather myself again before I actually went into the hall. Even more luckily, neither of the people involved seemed to have noticed me. Even Gamer's Mind didn't really fully protect me from what I saw, though.

The mildest form of disgust managed to scratch at my mind as I looked upon one of the bandits, a large Nord, with his pants down. The crying was coming from an Imperial woman without clothes that was chained to the wall. She wasn't looking at him, instead she stared at the ground as tears fell to the floor in a steady stream.

When the man tried to move forward in her moment of weakness, I rose a Stone Wall in front of him. His confusion likely only increased as I boxed him in with three other Stone Walls and activated Stone Spikes on all of them. His scream was filled with agony and my satisfaction only furthered when a notification popped up telling me I killed the last bandit in Helgen, receiving 100 XP and gold, plus another common Gacha token. I was stacking those up. Apparently, I also shot up to Level 15 from that kill.

**Level 15 Elementalist bonuses acquired**

**[Harden Earth]**

**20 MP**

**Increase the hardness of an Earthen material you touch.**

**[Soften Earth]**

**20 MP**

**Decrease the hardness of an Earthen material you touch.**

**[Condense]**

**30 MP**

**Condense water vapor into water up to a liter in an area of 250 meters around yourself.**

**[Evaporate]**

**30 MP**

**Evaporate water of up to a liter in an area of 250 meters around yourself.**

I accepted the notifications and lowered the walls. What was left of the Nord – and his equipment – wasn't even worth stashing in my inventory. I should probably have thought that through a little better, but I can't change it now. Stepping over the pile of crushed corpse, I looked at the woman.

Just as I saw before, she was completely naked. She was covered in bruises, dirt, blood, and semen from what I could tell. There was no questioning what had been done to her. For some reason she seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place why. Clearly, she was an Imperial, but there were many Imperial NPCs in Skyrim, so that didn't help that much. "Are you alright?"

The woman's eyes widened as soon as they locked onto mine. "You don't have to talk. Here, I'll get those for you." Trying out my new Soften Earth spell, I used it on the cuffs around her wrists. Three casts and they simply tore like paper from her weight. Ignoring the sticky substance as I caught her, I gently set her on the ground. "I didn't expect to find anyone but the bandits here. Were you one of the civilians here that they captured?"

The woman was still silent, but as soon as she spoke I recognized her. "No…" Her voice was hoarse and it had lost that pride from the last time I heard it. Still, there was no denying it. This was the Imperial Captain that doomed me to execution.

**Choose Your Path!**

**[Spare the Captain]**

**Rewards: ?**

**[Exact Vengeance!]**

**Rewards: ?**

Really? You're not even going to tell me what's at stake here? Well, I guess that's fair. Still, the look in her eyes is hard to read. "You're the Captain from yesterday, aren't you?" The woman took a moment to react to my question, but she nodded. "I bet I'm the last person you expected to save you from these bandits, huh?"

"I thought I'd be stuck with them forever…" All the fire that was so clear in her personality less than 24 hours ago seemed to have gone. If I had to guess, the bandits found her and had their way with her almost immediately. To be fair, she was quite attractive. She probably tried to fight them, but Imperial Steel can only help so much if you're surrounded by a dozen people or more.

Despite how much I might hate this woman for what she was willing to do to me, it feels like she's been punished enough for it. Based on the questionable liquids around the stone cell, I'd wager she was only chained up afterwards as an afterthought. If she was here, then the leader probably intended on making Helgen the primary base at some point. It was either that, or they had other girls at the Mine and she was kept here to motivate the men.

"I really should kill you after what you tried to do to me yesterday." I say, looking down at her. The thought does cross my mind quite readily. I'm sure that it would be as simple as putting down bandits or Stormcloaks, honestly. Her eyes already look quite defeated. She didn't even look like she had it in her to beg for her life. Even when lightning crackled between my fingers, she didn't react.

"I feel obligated to ask you though. Do you want to get revenge on them?" The woman blinked at the question. The emptiness in her eyes seemed to be replaced by a dull sort of emotion. She silent for a bit before she nodded. "I've already killed all of them here in Helgen, but I've still got the Mine that is their base to clear out. I'm a mage and you're a swordswoman. You help me and we can make sure that they're punished for this."

**[Spare the Captain] chosen**

**Rewards: Captain Victoria Bellicus Reputation increased (100/100)**

**Perk [Voice of the Emperor], [Commanding Authority]**

**[Voice of the Emperor]: Increase Reputation gain with Imperials**

**[Commanding Authority]: Companion CHA requirement lowered from 10 per companion to 5 per companion**

**Captain Victoria Bellicus available as a companion**

Wait, what? That seems a little ridiculous, doesn't it? Even as soon as that thought crosses into my mind, I try to imagine what the last 24 hours of this woman's life must've been and I suppose it's not as ridiculous as it might seem.

"You want me to help you?" She asks. "I'll do it. I'll need some things though." Her voice is hollow, but it seems like she'll do what I say. "I think that they took my equipment to the mine, so I don't really have much of a choice with what I can use." Opening up my inventory, I look through it before pulling out an iron sword and shield. I also pull out the armor that one of the bandits was wearing in the barracks. It should fit her.

"You can use this. But first, let's try and clean you up a bit." I open my inventory once more and bring out one of the wooden barrels I have in there. Casting Condense a few times, the water vapor in the air fills it up. "Clean yourself and then we'll leave."

I step outside the cell and wait in the hallway for her to finish. It gives me a chance to look over a couple things in my inventory. I'm collecting an enormous amount of things, but why? Will this furniture ever help? I mean, it was lucky to have that for now, but what do I need tables and chairs for? I guess I just picked it up for whenever I got a player home. Oh well, it's not like I need to stop doing so. I don't have carry weight, after all.

Several minutes later and she's finished. A quick casting of Evaporate dries her off. I hand her an HP potion and a bottle of mead. "Drink and spit the mead to get rid of whatever… taste you have in your mouth. Into the barrel, I'll evaporate it all after. Then drink the potion. It's very high-quality and should heal your bruises and everything else that they did to you."

She nods and does as I say. Her various injuries heal as she downs the potion. It was one of my rewards for entering the early access program, but I still have plenty. The lower-grade ones probably wouldn't have done the trick, honestly.

After a couple of minutes, she's dressed and has both the sword and shield on her person. The dullness in her eyes seems to have sparked into something else that's not quite an emotion. I can sense some anger from her, but she's probably still in shock. Before I can say anything though, a new notification pops up.

**Would you like to bring Captain Victoria Bellicus as a companion? (She will leave the Imperial Faction unless you join it)**

Wait, she's going to go AWOL because of me? Well, that complicates matters more than a little. Still, she didn't exist in all of Skyrim's canon besides at Helgen, so it might not affect too much. Sure, I'll take her. I needed a frontliner anyways. As I think that the notification is replaced by a new one.

**Victoria Bellicus has left the Imperial Legion.**

**Victoria Bellicus' Loyalty is currently 60**

**Ah! You finally have a companion. I was wondering when you would. Now I get to explain Loyalty!**

It's not just Reputation?

**Nope! Loyalty is unique to your companions. You see, most people will be willing to become your Companion at 75 Reputation, unless they are in a faction opposed to you or where joining with you would force them to leave. In that case, they are required to be at 100 Reputation.**

**Loyalty, on the other hand, is a measure of how dedicated they are to you. At 100 Loyalty they would even kill their own family members if you asked! Make sure you use the systems wisely!**

Ignoring the sickly sweet tone of the Voice, I looked at my new companion. It would be odd for me to know her name though. "In case you don't remember from yesterday, I'm Orpheus Kidwell."

"Victoria Bellicus." She responded. Her voice was still quite hollow, but not nearly as emotionless as before. The potion seemed to have not only healed her bruises, but also erased the puffiness around her eyes from her recent sobbing.

"Alright, Victoria, I'll give you as much information as I know. Yesterday, Helgen was attacked by a dragon. Hadvar and I escaped through this Keep and made our way to the nearby village of Riverwood. He's currently preparing supplies for the journey to Solitude to report to General Tullius. I wanted to come back to Helgen to see if there were any survivors, and find out anything about the dragon that we might've missed."

"When I got here, I realized that bandits had already moved in. Considering they would interfere with my ability to inspect the ruins, I decided to get rid of them. However, I'm certain that the bandits from Embershard Mine – that's where they are currently based out of – intend to move their main base here to Helgen. I don't know if they took anything that might be important for Tullius to know about, but I need to get rid of them as well just to be certain."

Victoria took a deep breath before nodding. "I'm not the only one left." She admitted. "There were a couple others that were here in the Keep. The torturer and his assistant, plus the dungeon guards. They told me about Hadvar and a mage helping them. I'm guessing that was you." Finally, her voice had traces of emotion again. Though, that almost but not really gratitude was replaced with almost but not quite anger quickly.

"The bandits showed up soon after the dragon's rampage stopped. I was at the entrance when they arrived. I managed to kill two of them before they surrounded me and knocked me out. When I came to, the old man was dead and the other three were in cells near mine. All of us were naked when I woke up, and the leader forced the others to watch as they… violated me."

"I don't remember when, but at some point I realized that they took the men. I assumed they'd been killed as well, but if they're operating out of a mine then they might have taken them as laborers. A soldier can swing a pick as good as any other slave when the whip comes out." That dullness in her eyes seemed to have gone to full-blown righteous anger over the course of her tale. It was short, but sometimes that's all it took.

"Then let's see about rescuing them as well." I should still be able to stash everything in the storeroom despite having a companion. She didn't say anything when I used my inventory before. Plus, I'm really starting to think I can just use the excuse 'it's magic' and most people will believe me.

"Lead the way." It was not difficult for me to oblige. It was time for me to finish this quest and get back to Riverwood. This trip had already been plenty more rewarding than I thought it would be. I never expected to get a companion so quickly. The cold pragmatism was a bit worrying though. I should probably be feeling something more than satisfaction at gaining a party member in this whole situation.

I would need to figure out what to do about Gamer's Mind later though. For now, I had bandits to kill.

**And that's it!**

**So, finally starting the first bit of original content on this story. I mean, I have to do dark stuff, because it's me we're talking about. That's kind of my thing. Ended it a bit shorter than the rest of the chapters, but it's still much longer than my usual chapters, so I feel okay with it. Plus, I was a bit constrained on time.**

**Anyways! You know the drill: Review, PM or head to my server over on (slash) PWDD44v**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	5. Chapter V: Misery Loves Company

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter V: Misery Loves Company**

The trip to Embershard wasn't particularly eventful. We made a stop at the storeroom and Victoria didn't really comment on the fact that I stole all of the Imperial supplies. I think she knew as well as I did that the Legion couldn't really afford to rebuild the fort with the Civil War going on. It was better for us to use them than for the food to rot and the iron to rust.

From there, we made our way back out the Keep. Only after we got to the barracks did I realize how gruesome scene was. In the moment, I didn't even think about the way I killed the bandits. I only wanted it to be quiet, quick and effective. However, outside of battle I looked around the room and saw my handiwork.

"Did you do this?" Victoria had asked me as we got to it. "Did they suffer?"

Truthfully, I didn't think about the response much. There was a lot of that going on. I simply replied, "Probably." The glint in her eyes and the slight twitching of her lips was more emotion that I'd seen thus far. She wasn't a robot, but perhaps that might've been better. Oh well, those were worries for the future.

Still, Gamer's Mind was turning out to be both quite useful and quite dangerous. The heads of those bandits were solid ice, with faces contorted into immortal looks of horror and pain. Well, maybe not immortal. They might melt into pools of water contorted into looks of horror and pain, I suppose.

After we left, Victoria seemed taken aback at just how much damage Alduin had done to Helgen. The fires were gone, so it likely looked much different to how she had last seen it. Large parts of the settlement were completely eradicated, only piles of burnt wood atop their stone foundations to say anything had ever been there. I never even visited the watchtowers, but I recall that the only real building in the game that still existed in any capacity was the inn with juniper berry mead.

And now we're near the entrance to Embershard. There are two guards stationed in front instead of the single one from the game. They don't seem to be too intimidating. Looks like a Redguard and a Nord, both of them in a gambeson and light chainmail. It looks almost like the Stormcloak armor, just not with their blue color. The Redguard has a sword and shield while the Nord is wielding a particularly large spear.

Well, at least with that I can see that the limited range of weapons from Skyrim has disappeared in lieu of more realism. That's good and bad, I suppose. I'll have a larger range of weapons to choose from whenever I finally take up a warrior class, but that means I also have to defend against more than seven types of weapons. Oh well, shouldn't be particularly difficult.

From our spot in the trees above and to the south of the entrance, Victoria and I have a decent view of them. "If I give you a bow, do you think you can take out the Redguard?" I wonder in a hushed tone. She nods immediately. I do so, handing over one of the bows I picked up off the bandits in the barracks as well as a quiver of arrows. "When you fire, I'll try and take out the Nord with a spell. I'm not sure how many people are in the mine, but if we're careful we might be able to get the drop on them before they realize we've gone inside."

The two of them didn't have any clue what was going on even when it was too late. An arrow and an ice spike through their skulls was more than enough. _Note to self: Get both Victoria and myself helmets as soon as possible_.

Moving down the hill to the bodies, I scanned over them and grinned. "Take the Redguard's sword and shield. Those look like proper steel instead of iron." Victoria did as told, feeling the balance in them. She swung the sword a couple times and seemed more comfortable with the heavier shield on her arm. The corpses and Victoria's old equipment went into my inventory while she did so. I decided to let her keep the bow and arrows. They wouldn't do me any good without the proper skills.

At this point, Victoria took point and placed her ear to the door. "You don't happen to have any of those detection spells, do you?" I shook my head and she pursed her lips. "I see. I can't hear anything on the other side, so we'll just have to hope for the best.

"Open the door and I'll have something ready if anyone is on the other side." I suggest, allowing lightning to crackle over my knuckles. The feeling of magic flowing through your body is such a rush. I don't even have to do that to prepare Lightning Bolt since it's all based on mental command. The feeling of electricity running through your veins is just so addicting though.

She opens the wooden door into the mine, and we both let go of our held breath when no one is there. "We need to be quiet. It may be for the best that I'm not in my usual armor for this, after all."

"You say that, until we encounter someone." I point out. "Still, even if someone else is in full plate, I can just fry them with some lightning or melt the armor to their flesh with fire." Victoria gives me a look. "What?"

"You're quite sadistic, aren't you?" I can't help but turn my nose up a bit.

"I'm not a sadist." I'm not! Really, I just know I'm not. "I'm just being pragmatic. If they're in pain, then they can't hit me. Plus, they're the bandits that assaulted you. They don't deserve anything less." The former Captain looked at me for a moment before smiling.

"Of course. I'll take point." With that, we made our way into Embershard. The entryway looked exactly as I remembered. The two of us stayed still for a bit, trying to gauge our surroundings. There was some noise down the incline that led to the mine, but it was incoherent from the distance we stood. "You don't happen to have anything that could help us see?" Victoria whispered to me.

It was rather dark in here, but my eyes were slowly adjusting. "The best I can do is start the casting for a fire spell and keep it in my hand." I explain, looking around the cave. I know there's a trap somewhere around here. As Victoria begins to move forward, I hold out my arm to stop her. Pointing to a tripwire in the ground, I then point up to a large number of heavy rocks ready to fall. "It's simple, but in this darkness it's effective."

She nodded and stepped over the rope. I wasn't far behind her. There were some gas lamps hanging on the walls every so often, but the Fireball I had in hand helped in the areas that light didn't reach. Victoria stopped after a bit of walking, and I soon heard why. The voices were much more distinct now.

I could barely make out the voices of two men. It was hard to tell exactly what they were saying, but from the few words I could understand, it sounded like they were looking forward to moving completely over to Helgen. So, were they planning on completely abandoning the mine then? That's certainly a possibility that I hadn't thought of.

"It sounds like they're alone." My companion whispered to me. "If we catch them by surprise, we might be able to take care of them before anyone else is alerted to our presence." She takes her bow out and makes her way forward slowly. Muffle would be really helpful right now, but I made up my mind on Elementalist already. I keep Fireball active and form an Ice Spike in the other hand as we push forward.

The two of us make it to surprisingly stable looking bridge without the two hearing us. It seems like they're both too busy drinking and planning all the things they'll do to Victoria when they get there. I send a glance her way and note that she only seems to be more focused after hearing that. I launch my Ice Spike into the back of the head of one of them as Victoria's arrow goes through the throat of the other.

Looking around the area we're in, I recognize it. There's a spring under the bridge we're on, and another bridge on the far side of the chamber that's vertical. There's a lever that we're going to have to pull to bring it down and that will alert people to our presence. We can take the time to prepare a little before then, though.

For now, the two of us head down the stone incline to our victims. I pull the Nord's corpse into my inventory, but the other Nord is still alive. He's bleeding profusely, but can't actually scream with an arrow through his neck. He won't last much longer, so I leave him to his fate and search around the area they're in.

In the game, there would be a small fire with a pot over it. However, in this world it's been replaced. Instead, these two were sitting at a table with a dozen bottles on it. Half of them are empty, the other half are full of ale, according to **[Observe]**. They all end up in my inventory, as well as the furniture. The chair that the half-dead Nord is in disappears, causing him to fall to the floor. I can't help but notice the grin on Victoria's face as I do so.

There doesn't really seem to be anything else around here though. I glance over to the spring and observe it to see if there's anything special, but it's just normal water. When the bandit finally dies, he goes into my inventory. "Listen, Victoria." I say to get her attention. "The only way forward is through that bridge on the far side of this room. There's probably a lever to lower it somewhere. We'll need to find it, but there's a high chance that it'll alert the entire mine to our presence when we pull it. That's assuming the lever is on this side of the bridge."

"If there's enough of them, then we might be in trouble." She says what I'm thinking. Looking over at the bridge I'm talking about, she purses her lips. "That looks like it's narrow enough to be guarded by a single person. I think this should work out in our favor. I should be able to hold out against them if I only have to fight one or two at a time, especially with magical support."

"You may not even have to kill them." I explain, getting a look from her. "If you can knock them into the water below then I can send lightning into it and electrocute them." Victoria's eyes seemed to light up in understanding at that. "Here, give me your shield for a moment." I tell her. She hands it over and watches as I cast **[Harden Earth] **on it twice. I don't want to trade out hardness for brittleness, so this seems like a decent balance.

"I used magic to increase your shield's strength." I explained to her. "It's the opposite of what I did to break your chains. I can increase and decrease the strength of stone and metal objects with these spells. I don't use any blades, but it's useful for my shield." I'm surprised at how easy it is to lie through my teeth to someone, but she seems to believe it. I mean, it's mostly true, I just haven't used it myself yet so that's the false part.

"If there's a lever, it's likely in that room." She pointed to the exact room where the lever was located. "There's nowhere else for it to be in this area, and that looks like a sort of guard station. There might also be some supplies for you to take, since you're so keen on taking anything that's not nailed down."

"I can't really help it. All of my belongings disappeared when my cart was seized by the Legion." I reply almost immediately. She winces slightly at that. "I'm betting that either the bandits have them, or they were destroyed by that dragon. I'll go check the room out, so go ahead and get in position."

"Of course." The room is even more full of supplies than I remember, looking through it. Of course, I'm not sure why I didn't think about it before. The game had so many limitations, so obviously it wouldn't have things like soap, oil or spare bowstrings lying around in storerooms. This, of course, wasn't a storeroom. More likely, it was as Victoria said: a guard station.

Still, there was a nice haul. Potions, oil, lanterns, spare weapons and even some coin. The furniture obviously went too. I really need to do some thinking later about what I'm going to do with all of this stuff. Ignoring that, I find the lever and get Victoria's attention.

She gets the message, drawing her sword. When she nods, I pull the lever. She makes her way about a quarter of the way across the bridge as we wait. Almost as soon as it starts moving, confused voices ring out. They're easy to hear thanks to the echo. The bridge isn't supposed to go down for another two hours or so, apparently. They even send someone to investigate.

When that person arrives, he widens his eyes at the sight of Victoria. Before he can shout out, I've already hit him with an ice spike. Thanks to the angle, he falls into the water below with a splash. They had to have heard the splash, but we're not playing the stealth game anymore.

Someone shouts, asking if the guy I just killed fell into the water. Laughter can be heard, but fades out as the seconds go by without any response. A few moments later and there are six bandits on the bridge. They see Victoria, but don't look up towards me. That works for me. "I don't know how you got out, you bitch, but you should've just ran off instead of coming here."

Victoria's eyes were hard as she looked at them. I looked at the group and lamented the fact that none of them were wearing metal. Still, I can make this a whole lot easier on Victoria. Sending a fireball into the group, I smile at the results. One Nord with a flaming skull shrieking, one nord and one Imperial in the water, two Nords sent back into the cave behind them and one Nord flying before the feet of Victoria. She immediately shoved the tip of her sword into his throat before kicking him off the bridge. I followed up with a Lightning Bolt into the water, finishing off three more bandits.

The two bandits that are left got back to the bridge by that point and rushed at Victoria, though bearing new scorch marks. I launched an Ice Spike into the one closest to me, causing him to go into the water. Victoria blocked the last bandit's slopped mace swing with her shield and plunged her sword into his stomach. When she pulled out, he also went into the water. One more Lightning Bolt and the battle was over.

**Challenge: [Between the Ice I] (Use Ice Spike 25 times) Complete!**

**Reward: Ice Spike damage increased, Rare Gacha Token, [Between the Ice II] unlocked.**

**[Between the Ice II]: Use Ice Spike 50 times**

Well, it's not exactly a level-up but I'm not going to complain. Ice Spike is one of my most used spells, so an increase to damage is fantastic. I make my way to Victoria, who seems to be admiring our handiwork. "You know, it's nice to have magical support for once. Things go much more smoothly. Are you going to take their corpses as well?" When I don't answer for a moment, she seems to gather her thoughts. "Are you a necromancer?"

I chuckle. "No, no. I can only use elemental magic." I explain. "I don't want to leave the corpses around for some necromancer to get ahold of. It's more of a rare occasion in Cyrodiil, but I heard that Skyrim has a real issue with them. We've caused a lot of death, and if some asshole comes along and finds the trail of dead bodies we've left, they'd have a field day." She thought about that and nodded.

"Yes, Skyrim does have trouble keeping things together. With the Civil War going on, all the manpower that might go into keeping order has gone to making sure that the Stormcloaks don't take control. Would destroying the corpses work as well then?" When I nod, the woman seems satisfied. "Destroying them might be going a bit far though. If you really are just trying to keep them out of the hands of necromancers, then that's for the best."

"Even so, there's a chance that the rest of the bandits know we're here with all the noise we made." I say with a sigh. "I'll pick these guys up later, but for now we need to figure out if we're going to stay on the defensive or go on the attack." Victoria tightened her grip around her sword before speaking.

"Let's flush these bandits out. If we stay here, some of them might get away. None of them deserve to live." I really couldn't fault her for her thought process. Plus, if she wanted to push ahead, then that would just mean we could clear out this place more quickly.

"Okay, let's do it then. Stay sharp." Over the bridge we go. The next part of the Mine opened up in a tunnel. This was the actual mine part of Embershard. It looked like it went deeper than I remembered, but everything in Skyrim seemed to be that way.

At least this tunnel was more well-lit than the entrance. Oil lamps hung along the walls and gave the entire cavern a dim ambience that was just enough to make out several meters in front of you. The two of us made our way down the tunnel, but it was plain as day that our cover was blown. Noises came from the deeper in the mine that were most likely the rest of the band being woken up. "We should expect company very soon." Victoria stated ominously. She wasn't wrong.

We just needed to get to a specific part of Embershard. I really wanted to see if the other Legionaries were in one of the cells coming up. If they were, then we could definitely use the help. Based on the amount of noise that was coming from the last chamber of Embershard, we were going to need every hand we could get. "Come on." I coax her to go faster as we come across the two prison cells. Usually, there'd be someone guarding them, but I guess that's the one that went to rouse everyone else up.

The cell that's usually empty was not only larger, but also had several people in it. Not just the missing three Legionaries, but two other Nord men – both of whom appeared to be in their early teens – and a single Breton woman – she was probably in her early twenties. The Legionaries' eyes lit up as they recognized both Victoria and myself.

I grabbed hold of the gate's lock in both hands, casting **[Cold Touch****] **until the metal was brittle enough that a shield bash shattered it. Doing a quick count of things in my inventory, I materialized enough weapons and armor for everyone from my inventory. "Okay, we don't really have time to discuss things." I say as I turn my attention to the part of the tunnel where the bandits have to come to get us. "Either take up arms and help us or go back that way and escape. We're going to have these guys after us very soon."

I concentrated quite hard on creating walls to keep them from coming at us, except for a single space in the center where one man could pass through. I ignored Victoria explaining things to the others while I cast Stone Spikes on the floor in front of the wall to keep all of the bandits that would eventually come through in a single file. Everyone should have both a close combat weapon and a bow, thanks to my hoarding. Whether they could fire it straight was something else entirely, but I was going to give us the best shot at this.

To be honest, I wasn't actually finished when they arrived. And I don't think that the prisoners were quite ready either. Well, it's not like I could've delayed much longer. At least I ensure that only one of them could come through at a time. My MP was still around the halfway mark, and steadily increasing thanks to my regeneration, so I wasn't worried about that.

When the first person came through, I didn't even have to move. Victoria already had an arrow through his skull. He fell backward, but then was shoved forward by the person behind him.

I would've liked more time so I could make the tight space longer and just used spikes to kill all of them at once. If I did that now though, I'd only kill one of them and they likely would refuse to move forward. I really wanted to 100% this quest if possible. Getting Helgen hinged on how well this went, after all.

Maybe I should just use spikes in the small space anyways. From the sound of it, some of the bandits are hitting the sides of my wall. It's not a very thick wall, so it shouldn't take them that long to get through parts of it with something like a mace. Glancing behind me, I note that the Legionaries at least have gotten their equipment on and are aiming their bows at the tunnel. After the first one went down, no other bandits went through.

"They're too scared to come in." The torturer's assistant from before mentioned. "And we definitely won't go through that. It's not a bad idea, but without the discipline of the Legion and a proper commander to push them forward, there's no way anyone would go forward. You bought us the time to get ready though. Go ahead and take the walls down."

That's right. These aren't AI that rush mindlessly forward. They actually have some sense of self-preservation. Of course this sort of thing wouldn't work. I allow the wall to crumble, watching as large rocks fall to the floor. Well, it adds an extra obstruction at least.

When it _does _fall, I'm greeted with the sight of a dozen and a half bandits swords, axes, maces, spears, bows and even a staff. They have a mage too, it seems. I want that staff. I don't know what it does, but something inside me _wants _to have it. Before anyone can react, I cast Vacuum Palm for the first time. The mage widens his eyes as his weapon travels from his grasp and into mine.

Observe makes me grin as I hold it. I had a feeling it was a Conjuration Staff based on the appearance. A straight, black handle that opened up into what appeared to be a three-pronged claw with a Soul Gem in the center. Observe told me that this was going to make the Legionaries somewhat unnecessary.

"Kill the bandits." I commanded as I channeled magic into the staff, pointing it right in front of the group. The Soul Gem glowed a dangerous-looking purple before a bolt of magic hit the ground just in front of the mage. With a great thunderclap and a rush of wind, an ethereal spectre formed. It solidified after not too much time, into the rough form of a feminine figure. The wind rushed back outwards again as she ignited into flames. I had to use my own magic for this, and it took quite a toll. I was still recovering from my construction, and that cost 250 MP, that was more than half of my total.

Still, it was all worth it as the Flame Atronach appeared and immediately cut into the bandits with inhuman efficiency and power. The Daedra even struck down its former master. Eighteen men were nothing but ash by the time she was done. What was more scary is that she took no more than a few seconds to do that.

_**You seem stronger than the last Man. Do not mistake my aid for obedience, mortal. Next time you Summon me, e**__**nsure it is private**__** so that we might make an Exchange.**_

The thought in my head wasn't mine, and it wasn't the System either. Clearly, the Atronach was the one who spoke. With its message given, it disappeared back to Oblivion. I might be struggling with questions I had no answers to, but at least this was all over with. The staff went into my inventory after a moment.I received a level-up notification telling me I've hit Level 17, and two other ones that surprised me.

**INT 100 bonus [Mana Flow] acquired**

**WIS 100 bonus [Firsthand Experience] acquired**

**INT/WIS 100 cross-bonus [Efficient Recycling] acquired**

**[Mana Flow]: Increase intelligence modifier on MP by 50%**

**[Firsthand Experience]: Increase XP gains by 10%**

**[Efficient Recycling]: Increase MP Regeneration by +1%**

The bonuses are really nice, that's for certain. I'll never turn down faster leveling, and the MP and MP regeneration are going to make things so much easier. The notifications aren't over though, from the looks of it.

**Quest: [Misery Loves Company] completely**

**Reward: 1000 XP, 1000 Gold, Rare Gacha Token**

That's even better. This was the entirety of their camp, it seems. Looks like I can mark these bandits off of my ambition then. This was no time to worry about that though. Instead, I turned around to the group that I found myself with.

"Given I've got more than enough for myself, you can keep the weapons and armor. I feel like it'll be necessary for survival. I assume that they planned to have you guys work the mines?" I asked the Legionaries. I received a trio of nods. "Well, these particular bandits won't be able to do much else. Not sure how they got ahold of that staff, but what's theirs is mine, I guess."

"Are you just in the habit of saving the Legion?" The torturer's assistant asked me. It was clearly in jest, but the look of suspicion in his eyes was clear.

"No, not really." I responded with a smile. "I just happened to be in the area. Honestly, I headed back to Helgen to look for surivors and clues about the dragon. I'll be heading to Whiterun tomorrow with Hadvar. I need to tell the Jarl about what happened, while he'll be going to Solitude to inform General Tullius of whatever he doesn't already know. While I was there, I happened to find Victoria and I figured out what happened."

"All the same, thank you for happening upon us again and helping us." One of the other Legionaries said before the first man could reply. "Where is Hadvar right now?"

"We're staying in Riverwood with his uncle. I don't think there's enough room at his place for all of you, but… there is an inn in the village." I look amongst the various people I freed. "I'll pay the rent for tonight, and you can decide if you'd like to come to Whiterun with us. However, I can't be responsible for any of you once we get there."

"We will likely want to join up with Hadvar on his trip to Solitude." The final of the Legionary trio stated. "We can give an account of what happened after his report ends."

I looked towards the other three prisoners. "What do you three want to do?" They shared a glance before one of the Nord men spoke up.

"I think we'll accompany you. If nothing else, Whiterun will have work. We've been here for so long… and I'm sure our families must think we're dead. I don't expect you to divert your course for a couple of slaves, so we'll make due with your help to Whiterun." I nod, looking around the what's left after the Atronach had its way.

"Let's head back to Riverwood then. The sooner we free ourselves of this Godsforksaken place, the better." The bodies are already ash anyways, so there's no real reason for me to collect them. Their equipment shared a similar fate. I don't even want to imagine how hot that thing's fire had to have been for such a thing to occur. I was done with Embershard.

Well, for now. When Helgen became mine, then I'd have to see about acquiring this place as well. Every city needs work to attract citizens, after all.

**And that's it!**

**So, this quest is over and things are moving along nicely. The chapter is a bit short, but I've got some personal stuff going on and wanted to get something up to take my mind off of it. Hopefully I can get back to the usual chapter length by next update.**

**Don't forget to let me know your thoughts in a review, via PM or over on the server at (slash) PWDD44v**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	6. Chapter VI: A Knife in the Bard's Heart

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter VI: A Knife in the Bard's Heart**

It was something like noon by the time we got back to Riverwood. It turns out that traveling takes a lot longer with three sleep-deprived and exhausted former slaves. That would probably have some effect on our trip to Whiterun, but it's fine. After all, I'd received a quest for it when we left Embershard.

To say that Hadvar was surprised when I returned with several of his comrades and some civilians would be a tad of an understatement. He'd been busy getting supplies from the Riverwood Trader sussing out truth from rumors about the roads leading to Whiterun from the Sleeping Giant Innl. After a short explanation of the events, he seemed to calm down a bit. I even pushed his Reputation up to 65 in the process.

It took some time to acquire rooms for everyone at the inn. Luckily, there were more than two rooms, unlike the game. There wasn't enough for everyone to be alone, but the beds were big enough for two anyways, so a bit of doubling up wasn't that bad. Especially when compared to where they'd just come from.

After letting them get settled in, with explicit instructions to the civilians that they were to rest up for tomorrow, Hadvar and I gathered inside Alvor's house. Sigrid took her daughter outside. She was quite good at reading the situation, though I did feel a bit guilty about basically kicking her out of her own house for this meeting.

"Okay, what's all this about, Orpheus?" Hadvar asked once we were alone. We sat at the table in Alvor's den. There was no food this time, but that was fine. I still hadn't eaten since I woke up, despite what I had thought this morning; the bread and cheese I'd split between the new people we'd found. I had more food from the storeroom in my inventory, but just as the Voice said, I didn't feel even a bit hungry.

"Like I was explaining before, I went to Helgen to look for survivors. I found some of your comrades and a couple of people enslaved to the bandits that took over a nearby mine. Victoria was a real help in clearing things out, but I think she might be a bit… broken after what the bandits did to her." I didn't explain this part before and from the look in Hadvar's eyes I didn't have to explain it here either.

"You think she might no longer be fit for the Legion?" Hadvar wondered. I'm pretty sure that I might've felt bad for having this sort of conversation with Victoria nowhere even close had it not been for Gamer's Mind, but I really wanted to keep someone like her around so I could draw the aggro away. Embershard had taught me something quite important. Just as magical support was good for frontliners, having a tank was just as beneficial for me as I thought it would be.

"I don't want to butt in, especially considering joining the Legion was never really something I thought of before I got here, but she seems to have… completely changed. I don't know if you saw it, but there's something in her eyes. She really reveled in slaughtering those bandits, which is understandable. I just don't know if being an officer in something like the Legion is where she needs to be after what happened."

Hadvar was quiet for a moment as he thought over what I said. "I haven't talked to her yet. I'll keep an eye on her on our way to Whiterun. With the extra… traveling companions, our three-day trip will likely take a week now. Especially since we can't exactly afford enough horses. I hope I can make our supplies last, but I'm not certain it'll be possible."

I smiled and waved his concern away. "Don't worry about the supply issue, Hadvar." Accessing my inventory, I caused an apple to appear in my hand. "I've got… a few tricks up my sleeve. I looted the Helgen storeroom while I was there. Thankfully, the bandits planned on moving over to the Keep, so they left most of the supplies there. Anyways, I've got enough food and water to sate a marching army for a month or two tucked away."

Hadvar widened his eyes. I knew it would be surprising, but I needed him to know this much. When I had Victoria tagging along, I realized that I would need to make my inventory semi-public knowledge. It might get some unwanted attention on me, but if the Legion knew about it then I wouldn't have to hide it. "What sort of magic is that?"

"It's… well, I'm not really certain." I tell him. I really hope my Elder Scrolls lore knowledge works here, otherwise this might get out of hand. "I've just kind of… always been able to do it. It's one reason I became a merchant and a scholar. I didn't know whether I could keep all my wares on me, so I ended up using a carriage when I crossed the border. Turns out that I was worried over nothing though. We've got everything that we could possibly need for our trip and more."

"We really need to get you to Solitude as soon as we can." Hadvar stated seriously. "Are you sure that I can't convince you to join me? General Tullius is sure to make an exception for you, and your report on Helgen on your second trip through is likely to be insightful." I smile and shake my head.

"Hadvar, I need to let the Jarl know. I also probably need to make a trip to Falkreath to led the Jarl there know what happened to Helgen too. Don't worry though, I'm loyal to the Empire through and through. Even if I'm not a member of the Legion, I'll make sure to take out my fair share of Stormcloaks. I get the feeling that Jarl Balgruuf is going to need me a bit more than General Tullius will in these coming days."

**Your Reputation with Hadvar has increased by 3 (68/100) for reassuring him, even if he still thinks you should join the Legion.**

"Of course. You did promise my uncle as well. Even if you won't join, I'd like it if you could make your way to Solitude one of these days. I'll buy you a strong drink and you can tell me all about whatever adventures you end up on." Hadvar seemed to have accepted that I wasn't going to join the Legion now, and likely felt that I wasn't going to at all. At least the message told me that I had assured him of my anti-Stormcloak sentiment.

"That sounds like a great idea, my friend." I reply with a grin. "Still… do you really think the civilians will double the length of time we'll take to get to Whiterun?" Also, three days of walking was the speed he thought it would take him and I to get there? Just how off-scale was the game? Or… maybe the entire world was scaled up to make up for the increase in scale of the locations? That's certainly a possibility.

"From the looks of the men and the woman, I think it's quite likely. The roads of Whiterun are better kept than in most of the Holds, thanks to the Jarl remaining neutral in the war. Even still, it's quite a long distance. I had estimated three days given I'm not certain how long you could last, since it's likely a Legion marching could cross the distance in a day and a half. Even with my uncertainty about you, the woman looks to be the worst off. It'll likely be her that slows us down."

After a moment, I catch his meaning. "You think that if they did that to Victoria so readily, then there's no way the Breton wasn't suffering similarly?" Hadvar nodded. Thinking about it, she did seem to be having far more trouble walking. "I'll head to her room in a bit and give her one of my healing potions. That should help her by the morning. By the look on your face, I feel like you don't think that'll improve our time by much."

"I still think five days. It's better, but we're still dealing with civilians. You seem to have some experience in combat, and more endurance than I'd expect of a mage, but I expect very little from those three. I don't disagree with your decision to save them, or to promise them they could accompany us, though. They'll be able to rebuild their lives in Whiterun quite easily, as long as they work hard."

"Five days, that's not as bad as it could be. I've given them all arms and light armor, though I can't say whether they can be trusted not to stab themselves with it in a proper fight. It was some of the equipment that the bandits were wearing. Thankfully, my little spell separates any foreign substances from things like clothing and armor when I use it." That really was a very good thing. I'm not sure why it happened, but it would make selling things a lot easier.

"I feel like every time you explain more about your magic, I only wish you'd join up with us that much more. Still, while it's good that you ensured Helgen and the mine were free from banditry, I'm worried. Those corpses are prime targets for all sorts of things, from predatory trolls to necromancers."

"Oh, don't worry about that." I replied stoically. "I've got those stored with my spell as well. No necromancer is going to raise an undead army and attack Riverwood. I'm not too sure what to do with them, though." Hadvar shifted in his chair a bit when I told him that.

"I think that you'll want to visit the Hall of the Dead in Riverwood. The Priest of Arkay will give them final rites and protect their bodies from any mages that get funny ideas." I nodded. "How does your spell work, anyways? Do you know where all the stuff goes?" I shake my head. "I suppose the only way to find that out would be at the College. Do you plan on becoming a student there, by the way? You've called yourself a scholar, so I assumed that's what you meant."

"You mean in Winterhold?" I ask before pausing. Actually, I haven't put much thought into what factions I want to join. Of course, my default response is that I want to be the leader of the Companions, the College, the Thieves' Guild and the Dark Brotherhood. I bet I could still get away with it too, but I don't know what repercussions that might have. "I haven't thought about it. My studies in magic have always been independent, but having a teacher might be nice."

"I'm sure that you could pick up some interesting things up there. Plus, that's probably one of the safest places to go if you want to stay out of the War. I'll let you give it some thought though. I'm sure you're quite tired from your fighting."

"Surprisingly, I'm still okay." I admit. "Maybe it's because I know we have more things to do in preparation. Why don't you go talk with your comrades? I still haven't really got a good look around the village. I want to head over to that general store across the street and see if I can't find anything interesting or useful. There might be things I don't have yet even after coming back from Helgen." Hadvar hesitated a moment before nodding. I stayed seated while he headed out. I was still alone for now, hopefully it would stay that way. It was time to do a little gambling.

**[Sabaton – The Art of War] album added to Radio**

**[Green Day – American Idiot] album added to Radio**

**[Luca Turilli – King of the Nordic Twilight] album added to the Radio**

**[Johnny Cash – The Cash Collection: The Mercury Years 1987-1991 Disc 1] album added to the Radio.**

**[Alan Walker – Different World] album added to the Radio.**

Well, that's certainly a… diverse set of prizes. Are all the common prizes just music? I get the need for music in a game, but that seems a bit ridiculous.

**With the corporatization of the music industry, and even places like YouTube having their artists push music into Spotify, we've been able to obtain essentially all music. There are things besides music in the common gacha, but given the size of the library, there is a low chance to draw anything else!**

Why, thank you for being so helpful, Voice. So, the common gacha weren't really too helpful. I'm assuming that music won't pop up in the uncommon or rare gacha, so let's see if there's anything useful now? Please let there be something useful.

**[Content Pack: Immersive Armor] added.**

**[Tome: Phoenix Flower] added.**

**[Tome: Ice Rune] added.**

Okay, there's some use there. Ice Rune is obviously just the stock spell from Skyrim. Means that token was a bit of a waste, but oh well. After a quick observe, it's pretty clear that Phoenix Flower is the ninjutsu from Naruto of the same name. I'll have to test its power out to know how useful it is.

Most importantly is actually the prize from the Uncommon Gacha Token. I recognize the name, that's a mod. Does that mean that mods from the workshop can pop up from my gacha tokens? That could make things interesting, but there's a ridiculous number of mods that I _really_ don't want.

Still, it looks like all three of them popped up into my inventory so I have to consciously choose to activate them. Activating them is exactly what I do.

**[Ice Rune]**

**75 MP**

**Create a rune trap on a surface that explodes for 150 Ice Damage when an enemy passes it.**

**[Phoenix Flower]**

**40 MP**

**Create a fireball that splits into five midair. Each fireball deals 15 Fire Damage and 10 Explosive Damage.**

**[Immersive Armors]**

**Adds new armors, shields, clothing and accessories to the world! The NPCs won't notice any difference, but please allow 24 hours for the new objects to load into the world.**

Well, if nothing else, it'll be interesting to see exactly how mods work in the world. At least the likelihood of incompatible mods being a thing is pretty low.

"Alright. Now I need to start doing some actual work to prepare for the trip." I mumble to myself and stand, finally leaving Alvor's house. There were things to do and quests to hunt down.

My first order of business was to head to the Riverwood Trader. I wanted to check out Lucan's inventory, and possibly start the Golden Claw quest.

As I approached the door to the shop, I could hear what sounded like arguing on the other side of the door. It looks like some things really are static. I head in, hearing the usual argument. Camilla saying that they need to do something. Lucan saying that it's too dangerous. They notice me after a bit, and Camilla leaves in a huff to go outside.

"I don't know what you heard, but the Riverwood Trader is open for business!" Lucan reassured me. I'm sure he was trying to sound confident, but I could tell he was still shook up.

"I don't mean to butt in, but what was that all about?" I wonder while looking around his shop. I had an interface pop up as soon as I walked in, but I wanted to look like I was browsing.

"Oh, we, uh… had a break-in last night." He explained. "They came in the middle of the night and raided the place. Funny thing is, they only took one thing. It's a solid gold ornament, in the shape of an eagle's claw. Sure, it was gold, but it really isn't worth that much."

"Bandits really are the worst." I comment while glancing through the interface. This system is really great. It even scrolls when I think about it. "You know, I have some experience with taking out bandits. I just eradicated a camp up in Embershard, that mine in-between Helgen and here."

Lucan seemed to perk up at my statement. "Did you really now? I can't really offer anything up-front, but if you find my claw, then I'd be more than happy to reimburse for your services. I have some coin coming in from a recent shipment, you see. I'll be glad to give it to you if you can bring it back."

"Of course. I'll keep a lookout for it. Bandits never really stray far from their hideout, so they're likely to be nearby." Perhaps they're up at Bleak Falls Barrow? "For now, there are some things here that I'd like to purchase. I've not much coin on me though. How would you feel about a trade of sorts? I've picked up quite a bit of stock from clearing out those bandits, and I'm sure you could find more use for some of these things than I could."

As the conversation passed from his Claw into bartering, Lucan's eyes seemed to shift a bit. He was an Imperial merchant, so I thought I had a pretty good way to capture his attention. I was actually eyeing some specific wares of his in my interface. Thankfully, the interface also gave me a rough estimate of how much my own inventory was worth. It wasn't as exact as Skyrim, more of a range of prices.

"What, in particular, were you hoping to exchange?" Lucan wondered. It was clear he was interested. I couldn't tell if that was the System, my merchant occupation, the fact that he was an Imperial or just his base personality but I didn't really care.

"Well, I've gathered a lot of weapons and armor, but I'm not sure if you're really interested in something like that. I've also got quite a bit of furniture and foodstuffs. There were various books in their mine as well, oddly enough. To be frank, there's a lot that a wanderer like me can't really use."

"So you expect me to believe you hauled chairs and tables on your own from Embershard all the way into Riverwood?" Lucan asked skeptically. That was, of course, until I took a table and four chairs out of my inventory in the middle of his store. His eyes lit up again as I stored them once again. "Okay, I believe you. What sort of magic is that? It seems like it would be very useful for deliveries."

"Oh, I'm not sure. I've, more or less, been able to do this as long as I can remember." My backstory was really coming together. Now, what's the best way to finish off the explanation? "I don't know if I really believe it, but there was one priest back in Cyrodiil that claimed it was a gift from Zenithar himself."

"I might believe that." The shopkeeper muttered under his breath. "Well, what strikes your interest in my inventory here? I've got quite the stock, best outside of the city of Whiterun itself, I can guarantee you that. Even Falkreath's capitol can't compare to my selection." I might've been tempted to call Lucan's boast nothing but that. However, his inventory was much broader than the base game. I guess when you don't have Bethesda forcing level lists on a starter area, you can actually run your business the way you want.

"You have potions, right? I'm going to want to pick up as many of those as you'll let go. I'm sure I have more than enough wares to interest you and I've got the feeling that I'll need them." Lucan blinked a couple of times before nodding. He made his way to the door and locked it before leading me further back into his shop.

"We better do this in the storeroom. I keep the better stuff back there and I think that'll be the best place to keep what you offer up."

It was about an hour of looking over his inventory, showing him what I thought he'd like and haggling values before I left. In the end, I lost a few pieces of furniture that Lucan wanted for his shop, some of the foodstuffs from the Keep, most of my alcohol and some of the kitchenware I'd accumulated from the Keep and the Mine. In exchange, I received a dozen small and medium HP and MP potions each, as well as a collection of more specialized concoctions such as Potions of Strength and Potions of Cure Disease. There was a slimmer selection than I might've liked, but I'd just visit the apothecary in Whiterun to get some better things.

With that particular errand taken care of, I left the Riverwood Trader. Truth be told, I wasn't really too sure what else I might want to do. I wasn't an archer, so I didn't really need to pick up Faendal. I also wasn't interested in Camilla, so there was no reason to take her for myself. I mean, I could do the quest just for the XP and gold, but was I that much of a completionist? What am I talking about, of course I am!

And so, I walked down the stairs with my next errand in mind. There was very little reason to side with Sven on this one. He didn't offer anything of note. Given this wasn't the game, I doubt I could convince Faendal to make the trek up to Bleak Falls Barrow like I usually do. He has a job at the mill which he needs to attend to. Not only that, but he's a hunter of game, not bandits or draugr. He wouldn't really have the same unflinching bravery as he did as a companion in-game. At least, I don't think so.

Still, a hunter was more useful than a non-magical bard. Therefore, I guess I was going to play match-maker for the elf. Which, of course, meant that I needed to locate Sven. I couldn't hear him arguing with his mother, so it's more likely he was at the inn trying to LARP as a bard instead of doing his job at the mill. That was another reason that I refused to help the Nord. He reminded me a little too much of a certain slacker in my previous life.

I could hear Sven before even opening the door, reciting Ragnar the Red. Shaking my head at the predictable nature of an NPC, I entered the inn. No one else seemed to be listening to his song. When he finally finished, he made eye contact with me and seemed like he was trying to figure out who I was.

Well, it was time to see how much I could actually fake through these things. Sven's singing was decent, but certainly not something I'd buy him a meal for. "What's a bard doing all the way down here in this backwater?" I ask him. "Surely you'd be better off in Whiterun, where your talents are better understood."

In the corner of my vision, I saw a pop-up announcing that I'd passed a Charisma check for lying. It was extremely low, only requiring 5. Sven's ego was quite large after all, I suppose. I also ended up gaining some reputation with him, taking me up to 10. "Ah, you recognize a good bard when you see one, I see. I don't think we've met. My name is Sven."

"I'm Orpheus. I'm only passing through this village on my way to Whiterun. I'm a merchant, you see, coming up from Cyrodiil. Some of my party are here in the inn, while I'm staying with Alvor. His nephew, Hadvar, is traveling with me so he offered me a room." Simply tossing out Alvor's name and naming myself a merchant from Cyrodiil bumped my reputation with him by another 5 points each. This guy really was easy to impress, I suppose.

"All the way from the Imperial Capital, you say? I could tell you were more… refined than the people here, but I didn't think you'd be from somewhere so pristine. Singing in the Capital City is something I've always wanted to do. Is it truly as magnificent as the tales say?" I smile a bit.

"More so than even that. It is unbelievable how grand the City is to see. I look forward to returning to it, but there was simply too good of an opportunity for me here in Skyrim. Besides being a merchant, I am also a scholar, you see. I've come to study the birthplace of our first Emperor so that I might better understand how we got where we are today."

"I'm sure that my music can't compare to the bards in Cyrodiil yet, but I'm honored that you still enjoyed it. Would you like me to play something else?" Sven was very eager to impress me, quite obviously. I didn't think a few words would be all it took to get him to this point. Could I possibly grind my reputation with him up to 100 over the course of a single conversation? That would be an interesting thing, for sure.

**Quest [A Serenade Without Music] added.**

**Max out Reputation with Sven**

**Rewards: +10 CHA, ?, ?**

Well then. I mean, it was just an idle thought, but I have to do it now that there's a quest, don't I? Extra charisma is super useful, especially since I can't really get it through my current class. Alright, let's see what I can do.

"Do you know any ballads about Dragons?" I wonder. I never really bothered to purposefully listen to most of the songs, so I'm genuinely unsure what he might know. Sven fidgeted a bit, before shaking his head.

"There's… the one about Tiber Septim and Naafilargus. I never bothered to learn it. The Blades killed them all centuries ago. Nobody asks to hear that lay anymore." He seemed to be down that he couldn't play what I wanted.

"Don't worry so much about it. It was more idle curiosity than anything else. Dragons are one of my interests, and what brought me to Skyrim. No one in Cyrodiil plays songs about them either. Perhaps you should learn one or two? It would give you parts of your repertoire that others do not have." And there's another 10 for reassuring him, 5 for giving him advice and 5 for making him feel like he has a shot in Cyrodiil. This is a lot easier than I thought it would be. I don't even feel bad about the manipulation. That… might be an issue, but I can address that later.

"You really think I could have a shot in the Imperial City?" Just nodding gives me another 5. For Akatosh's sake, Sven, don't make this so easy! It feels like I'm cheating at this point. "Honestly, no one in this village thinks I'll amount to much besides working at the mill. Sometimes, I think that Delphine only lets me work here as a bard because a real bard wouldn't stick around in Riverwood."

"Clearly you have both talent and ambition, Sven. I'm sure that the innkeeper sees that as well." And that gets me up to 50.

**Perk [Songbirds of a Feather] added for reaching 50 Reputation with Sven.**

**[Songbirds of a Feather]: Reputation with musicians increases faster.**

Oh boy, now this is gonna feel like I'm cheating even more. Oh well, it's a quest which means I must complete it. "You work at the mill though?" I wonder. He nods. "I thought you seemed a bit larger than a bard usually is. Do even the others you work with not see your worth as a bard?" Somehow, Sven looked both appreciative at the compliment and angry at thinking about Faendal. Yes, I'll use that to get him. Both the compliment to his skill and the insult to other workers got be another 6 each, thanks to the new perk.

"No. They don't see it in me. Not my employer, and none of the people I work with. The worst of them is this Bosmer, Faendal." Sven's voice got a lot quieter as we went to this subject. "Not only does he not understand my dream, but he's even trying to take my woman." When I nod, the system notifies me of a ridiculous increase of 21 just for taking his side. _Why are you so easy to manipulate, Sven?_

"I'm sure whoever she is, she's quite beautiful and recognizes your talent. I've not met many people in the village though. I've only had time to visit the Riverwood Trader today, so I probably haven't even been able to see whoever it is that Faendal is trying to take. He certainly sounds like a traitorous dog though." I literally only need 6 more to get maxed out with the increase that load of BS just got me.

"You went to Lucan's shop? It's actually Lucan's sister that I'm talking about. Can you imagine her getting with an elf? Faendal is high on Skooma if he thinks he's got a shot." He sighed. "Still, she does talk to him more than I would like."

"Well, I could help if you want." I offer. "This Faendal certainly sounds like a villain if he's trying to step in-between you and your lover." Sven's eyes lit up at the same time a new notification appeared.

**Perk [Just a Small Town Bard] added for reaching 100 Reputation with Sven.**

**[Just a Small Town Bard]: Speech checks become 1% easier for every 10 Reputation with a character or faction**

**Sven is now available as a companion.**

**Quest [A Serenade Without Music] complete.**

**Rewards: +10 CHA, Rare Gacha Token*2, 1000 XP**

"You really would? Well… I have been cooking something up, but I really wasn't sure how to go about it. I have a fake letter from Faendal. If you could deliver it to Camilla and say it was from him, then that might be just the thing, don't you think?" I pause and take up a pose that I think looks like I'm pondering it before nodding.

"Sure, that sounds like it could work." Sven grins and goes through a bag that's in one of the inn's chairs before handing a letter to me. "Luckily, I had it on me. Something told me today was going to be good. Thanks for this, it means a lot to me."

"No worries, Sven." Hey, Mr. Disembodied Voice, will I still keep Sven's perks if his reputation drops?

**Once you receive a perk, flaw, or title, it will remain even if its previous requirements are no longer met! There are some exceptions to this, but they are usually done as part of a quest, through the intervention of a god, or in the process of moving worlds! Do not fret, you can freely backstab this starry-eyed young man whom looks up to you without consequence!**

Not exactly the way I'd _like _it to be phrased, but at least I'll keep his Rep perks. I take the letter from him and leave the inn. Now to find Camilla.

**Quest [Burning Out the Stars in His Eyes] added.**

**Give Camilla Sven's fake letter and tell her the truth.**

**Rewards: Massively increased Reputation with Camilla and Faendal, Massively decreased Reputation with Sven, ?, ?, ?**

**And that's it!**

**So, firstly I'd like to apologize for my hiatus. I was unable to write since the last update due to attending a funeral, and I wanted to make it up to you guys by getting a new chapter out as soon as possible, so here it is! I'll definitely try to get back up to the normal update length with next chapter though. Next chapter is also gonna come with two announcements, so that'll be fun.**

**Anyways, make sure to let me know your thoughts via Review, PM or over on the Discord server at (slash) PWDD44v**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	7. Chapter VII: To Whiterun

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter VII: To Whiterun  
**

The silence of my empty Instant Dungeon of Riverwood somehow felt comforting when I opened it. I had been forced to wait until everyone went to sleep again before I could access the pocket dimension. Oddly, it felt like far more than a day since my last time doing this, despite being far less than that. Purging a bandit camp from the countryside had a strange way of dilating time, I suppose.

After getting the quest to betray Sven, I approached it the way I had intended from the beginning. Finding Camilla, she was made aware of his attempt. She asked me to inform Faendal, which I did. Then I received the reward notification. It was… unexpected, to say the least.

**Quest [Burning Out the Stars in His Eyes] complete!**

**Reward: Massively Increased Reputation with Camilla and Faendal, Massively Decreased Reputation with Sven, Title [Emotional Manipulator] added, Event [Matters of the Heart] activates, Quest [An End to the Suffering] added, Ultra-Rare Gacha Token added, 1000 XP gained**

**Perk [Elf-Friend] added due to Faendal's Reputation hitting 50.**

**Perk [Nature's Cloak] added due to Faendal's Reputation being maxed out.**

**Faendal is now available as a companion.**

**Perk [Gilded Bonds] added due to Camilla's Reputation hitting 50.**

**Perk [Blood of the Capitol] added due to Camilla's Reputation being maxed out.**

**Camilla is now available as a companion.**

**Sven is no longer available as a companion.**

**[Elf-Friend]: Reputation increases more quickly with Wood Elves.**

**[Nature's Cloak]: Disease and poison resistance is increased by 50%.**

**[Gilded Bonds]: Reputation increases more quickly with merchants.**

**[Blood of the Capitol]: Unlocks [Imperial] Race.**

**[Emotional Manipulator]: You've grown quite accustomed to taking advantage of the highs and lows of others' emotions. Reputation changes and speech checks are more favorable with emotionally-charged targets.**

**[Matters of the Heart]: The struggle for Camilla's heart between Sven and Faendal has seemingly come to an end in Faendal's favor. Unless some unforeseen circumstance comes to fruition, they are likely to be married within the year.**

**[An End to the Suffering]: Sven has lost the struggle for Camilla's favor. If he is not given a new purpose in life by the time Faendal and Camilla's marriage, he will find an end to the suffering himself.**

There was a lot to digest from all the pop-ups. The perks were really nice, for sure. The Voice also informed me that Races were apparently equippable. So, I quickly replaced Human with Imperial, which gave me their active and passive abilities. That was certainly really nice.

More importantly were the event and quest though. The even wasn't that surprising, but knowing that my actions could potentially lead to Sven's suicide were something else altogether. I know I should've felt… something. Instead, I couldn't really bring myself to feel anything about it. I wasn't sad. I wasn't ashamed. I wasn't even proud of it.

There should have been _something_. The sheer vacuum of emotion I felt towards the entire thing was unnerving, but not extremely so. Even my own anxiety about not feeling anything was… dull. It's like I only felt that way because I was consciously trying to feel that way because I thought I _should _feel that way. This had to be Gamer's Mind. There wasn't any other explanation for it.

Still, I didn't have the time, the luxury, or the desire to worry too much about it. Based on what the Voice said back during Character Generation, Gamer's Mind was the primary tool that kept me from going insane in this strange afterlife. I guess this was the way it did so.

Not having to worry about any nagging guilt, or even any arrogant pride, about my actions was probably really good. In a world like Skyrim as well, there were so many things that I hadn't really given much thought but were actually quite terrible. What I did to Sven was different to killing bandits. It seemed more personal. If I could get over that – or rather, never have any problems with it to begin with – then something like charging the Ebony Blade or getting Mehrune's Razor would be a lot easier.

There was a thought. Was I going to just collect all the Daedric artifacts and become the Champion of every Daedric Prince I could for the sake of completionism?

Of course I was! There's probably a challenge or a quest for it or something. Even if there's not, the artifacts are mine. If I don't get them, some other bastard might do so. It would be better for Skyrim as a whole if I had them all, since I was the protagonist. If someone else had them, they'd clearly be some insane Daedra worshipper, a criminal, a psychopath, a cultist. I, however, am the very model of mental health!

You know, minus the whole sociopath thing. Or the manipulation of a star-struck country bumpkin. Why were you so easy to manipulate, Sven?

Anyways, there were more important things to concern myself with. I had some gacha tokens, but that wasn't why I popped into the Instant Dungeon. Opening my inventory, I pulled out my recently acquired staff. Channeling my mana through it, I watched as the soul gem atop glowed with magic. Releasing the energy at a spot roughly five meters in front of me, I witnessed the Flame Atronach materialize in my Dungeon.

The feminine-looking Daedra levitated in place and regarded both me and the pocket dimension we were in. It spoke without a mouth, its thoughts simply echoing across the space I'd created that was a reflection of Riverwood.

"**What is this place, Mortal? I feel as if it is both Mundus and Oblivion at once. It is vexing."**

"This is my Instant Dungeon." I explained to it. "It is a dimensional magic. With it, I can create a copy of the spaces around me that are unaffected by whatever happens inside. I can summon entities here to fight against, so that I might become more experienced. I also can use it as a sort of waygate, since whenever I end the spell I end up not where I cast it, but where I'm standing in the Dungeon." It was quiet. "When I summoned you before, you said that you require an exchange for my continued usage of the staff. That's why I brought you out here, so that no one could interrupt us."

"**A wise decision, considering the tendency of your kind to attack unprovoked. Yes, an exchange must be made. Through the staff, I am summoned with the power of the gem atop. However, it seems that you are using your own power, and not that of the staff. I am currently here of my own power, to heed your call. My power is large, but not limitless, and the fires of Infernace call to me even now."**

"Is the exchange… a power source for you then?" I wonder. The Atronach does not move, but I can somehow tell that it nodded mentally. Still, what sort of power source would work? Couldn't it just use my magicka?

**That is a distinct impossibility! You do not have this world's Magicka, you see! You are utilizing the ever-vague and interchangeable Mana, which is then **_**converted **_**to Magicka through the use of your Elementalist class! As it stands, your use of the staff is only doable because it summons an Elemental being, but without the Summoner class, you will be unable to offer up your Mana to it.**

That's… just wonderful, isn't it? I mean, learning more about the system is pretty cool, I guess. Still, what to do? Hm… "You mentioned that you utilize the soul within the gem as your power source? Could you sustain yourself on the souls of others then? I'm no necromancer. I'm not even a summoner. I don't know the first thing about how to trap souls or how to utilize the power within them. However, I do know a thing or two about killing mortals. Would you be able to consume the souls of whatever I kill?"

"**That is a potential path for our exchange. I did not imagine you to be quite so eager to sell-away Black Souls. It appears mortals are ever-surprising."**

That's right. I did just try and use the sacrificing of the souls of other Men and Mer as my first option, didn't I? Well, no matter. "I'm going to be killing them anyways. Until I learn Soul Trap, I'd have to rely on mages to give me Gems, and those are expensive. Killing people and feeding you their souls is free though." I said matter-of-factly. I mean, I know I had quite a bit of money saved up, but I really wanted to use that for other things. I needed to get better armor in Whiterun. I wanted to buy Breezehome. I would need to see if Farengar had any good Destruction tomes I might want. Soul Gems are way too expensive, especially filled ones.

"**If you can ensure Black or Grand Souls will be available whenever I am summoned, then I will heed your call." **It replied. "**You are certainly an interesting one. What shall I call you?"**

"I'm Orpheus Kidwell." I introduce myself. "Do Atronachs have names?"

"**You may call me whatever you wish. I am bound to the staff and its wielder. I am yours to command, so long as you acknowledge and pursue your end of our Exchange. Do you require anything of me currently?"**

Hm… well, I could test it out on the Zombie Dungeon, but I'll leave that alone for the time being. I don't think they have souls to be consumed, and they certainly aren't Black or Grand Souls. "No, I don't. You're free to return to Oblivion. I'll Summon you when I have need though."

"**Of course." **With that, I was alone in the empty Dungeon once again. Glancing at the clock widget I'd purchased before, I saw that I still had several more hours until first light, and I'd already slept an hour before coming out here. Well, I may as well get some training in, right?

**[][][]**

After four hours of grinding Wave 5 of my Zombie Instant Dungeon, noticeable progress had been achieved. I wasn't too confident about going into Wave 6 after all the trouble Wave 5 had given me. That said, it was just challenging enough for me to get a rush but still within the range of survivability. I had to take time to recharge my MP in between each round, but it was really lucrative. I got my level up to 23, gained 8 Uncommon Gacha Tokens, and earned an extra 40 Stat Points. I didn't really know where to put them though, so I left that for later.

I made sure to also play my gambling mini-game. In the end, I got quite the boon between my Level 20 spells and the gacha.

**Challenge [Back in the Grave I] Complete!**

**Rewards: +10% Damage against Undead, [Back in the Grave II] unlocked.**

**Challenge [Back in the Grave II] Complete!**

**Rewards: -10% Damage from Undead, [Back in the Grave III] unlocked.**

**[Back in the Grave III]: Kill 500 Undead (368/500)**

**Level 20 Elementalist Rewards acquired.**

**[Oil Slick]: (20 MP/sec) Create a stream of flammable oil from your hand.**

**[Stone Spear] (35 MP) Launch a spike of earthen material from any surface within your line of sight.**

**[Cutting Whirlwind] (50 MP) Create a small whirlwind of wind capable of cutting through flesh and clothing in any direction you choose.**

**[Water Whip] (20 MP) Create a whip from a nearby water source.**

**10 Skill Points acquired from the Uncommon Gacha Token.**

**500 Currency Tokens acquired from the Uncommon Gacha Token.**

**[Tome: Oxidize] acquired from Uncommon Gacha Token.**

**[Expansion: Apocalypse Magic] acquired from the Uncommon Gacha Token.**

**[Jet] acquired from the Uncommon Gacha Token.**

**[Phoenix Down] acquired from the Uncommon Gacha Token.**

**[Awakening] acquired from the Uncommon Gacha Token.**

**[Staff of Oakflesh] acquired from the Uncommon Gacha Token.**

**[Hero's Ring (Final Fantasy VI)] acquired from the Rare Gacha Token.**

**[Pickman's Blade (Fallout 4)] acquired from the Rare Gacha Token.**

**[****Kyouko****'s Spear (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)] acquired from the Ultra-Rare Gacha Token.**

Right off the bat, I noticed that I couldn't even properly use two of them. I mean, yeah, I could equip spears and knives. The system wouldn't stop me from doing that. However, it _did _give me a warning that I lacked the requisite perks to use them correctly. Honestly, I'm not sure why I didn't get something similar when I equipped my armor and shield back at the Keep, but I suppose it didn't matter too much. It was a good thing to know that the gacha wouldn't only give me things related to my class though.

However, the more interesting thing was that I got consumable items like Phoenix Down and Jet. They were in the uncommon draws, which made some sense, but it did bring up the question of whether it was a one-time thing or if it was repeatable. Either way, I'd save both of those for much later, along with the Awakening. All three of them were useful, in their own way. Phoenix Down could bring back a recently deceased to life. Awakening was the item from Pokemon that woke up anyone sleeping. Jet... hopefully it wasn't as addictive as the Fallout games presented it as. Being able to increase my reaction time so much that time functionally slowed down might be life-saving.

The new mod was something else I was pretty familiar with. Apocalypse Magic added something like 30 new spells to each school, integrated them into loot and also into the spellbooks of enemies. There was a lot of really cool stuff in there.

I learned Oxidize, which was a neat little spell. It let me rust any iron or steel object I cast the spell on. The staff went into my inventory for me to use later. I don't think alteration magic was open to me yet, but the staff worked just fine when I tested it, so armor was looking less and less useful. Is it because wood was part of elemental magic? Would I be able to learn things like Ebonyflesh since Ebony was a metal? The gacha always raised new questions.

Lastly was the Ring. It was a neat little thing to have: all physical and magical damage is increased by 25% while wearing it somehow. I don't know how that works, but I really wasn't going to complain.

My grinding was probably in a pretty good place for now. I was still two levels off from picking up other classes, but it's not like that mattered very much. As a mage, I was more than capable of doing whatever needed doing. I probably needed to pick up something else to do the Thieves' Guild, Dark Brotherhood, and Companion stuff, but it wasn't that big of a deal to put those off right now.

Besides, it's not like I could do much more grinding anyways. It was first light, and people would start waking up. So, I traveled back to my bed and ended the Instant Dungeon. It would probably be a bit before we headed out, so a half hour nap seemed like a good idea to get back to peak condition.

**[][][]**

According to my clock app, it was around 6 AM when we left Riverwood. We gathered our other party members from the Sleeping Giant and made our way across the bridge to the outskirts of Riverwood.

I also had letters of introduction from Alvor and Hadvar to the Jarl. I was assured that it would make it easier to get an audience with him than just my word. Alvor I understood, but the reason Hadvar gave me one didn't hit me until just then. He was _part of General Tullius' bodyguard_. That was pretty significant.

Five days of walking meant that whatever I _thought _about the road in between Whiterun and Riverwood, there's no way it would even remotely resemble it.

If I was expecting much to happen, I was sorely mistaken. Hundreds of hours of Skyrim had trained me to believe that just walking on a road was going to be enough to elicit a wolf pack or roving bandits to attack us. Hours ticked on with nothing of the sort going on. Still, the landscape was pretty, so it wasn't all bad.

Huh… that was strange. Was I actually hoping for more life or death encounters while traveling with three people who definitely were not capable of fighting back? Hm… this Gamer's Mind thing was really effective at making me forget that I wasn't actually playing a game. That could be bad. Oh well, those were problems for future Orpheus to deal with. I was too busy uh… walking. Yeah, walking was more important that worrying about the imminent realization that I was either already a sociopath or well on my way to becoming one. Well, more than I already was in my previous life, anyways.

Well, if my mind was apparently incapable of making me feel ashamed of my amorality, there were always a few boons I could get from that. I wouldn't really feel guilt doing the more heinous Daedric artifact quests, at least. Hm… what artifacts could I obtain this early? Oooh, I might be able to pick up the Ebony Blade. I'd probably need to be sneaky, but my empty Instant Dungeon would take care of that. Also, it would take care of me getting into the sealed basement. Also, also, it would allow me to get back out of Dragonsreach without being detected.

That was definitely on my list of things to do in Whiterun.

**Quest [A Sword in the Back] added.**

**Obtain [Ebony Blade] and restore it to its full power**

**Rewards: Massively Increased Reputation with Mephala, ?, ?, ?**

I mean, I was already going to do it. Honestly, this whole system of rewarding me for things I already planned on doing was really good. It really kept me motivated to stick to my plans. Otherwise I might get distracted by other stray thoughts.

In all honesty though, the walk to Whiterun was quite boring. There were no attacks. All of our stops for meals and sleep were peaceful. There weren't even any fights amongst our group. I couldn't grind either. When it was my turn to keep watch, I made sure I did so. When it wasn't, I didn't want to go into the ID only for someone to look for me and not be there. It was all rather infuriating to have the means to grind, but purposefully not do so.

Those five days couldn't move fast enough for me. That said, we did _eventually _reach the outskirts of Whiterun. Cobblestone and forest had given way to farmland yesterday. It was pretty interesting to see that changes from the game manifested in a semi-logical way at least. That said, with how far away the furthest farm was, I expected Whiterun to be immense.

I was not disappointed. The castle rolled into view well before we reached the Honningbrew Meadery. Dragonsreach dominated the skyline while the walls stretched on for over a kilometer. Large didn't even begin to describe the size of the city I observed. Despite that though, I wasn't particularly surprised. Whiterun was the economic center of Skyrim, after all. There was little reason for it to be as small as it was in-game.

Far more surprising were some of the things outside of Whiterun proper. For one, I didn't expect the Meadery to be its own… well, fort. There wasn't a much better way to explain it, all things considered. The entire property was larger, there were proper walls surrounding it and guards in full plate standing atop said walls. Two watchtowers glared down upon the road that were likely manned by archers whose sole job was to put an arrow through the throat of any intruder.

Upon further thought, it did make sense though. The Honningbrew Meadery would likely be a pretty nice target for bandits or rebels. There was plenty of alcohol and probably a pretty sizeable treasury. I made a mental note to stay away from the estate if I could.

Besides that, everything else was mainly the same. The rest of the farms were sized up, the stables were about thrice as big with two extra carts for transit and the walls apparently rose up higher than I thought they would. When we did finally reach the stables, Hadvar gave his goodbyes.

"Are you absolutely certain I can't convince you to come with us to Solitude?" Looks like he wanted to try one more time.

"I've already told you, Hadvar. I've got a responsibility to let the Jarl know. Plus, I'm a merchant, not a soldier. Perhaps my path will take me to Solitude, but I think Whiterun is where I'm meant to be right now."

Hadvar smiled and nodded. "Aye. I figured you might say that. I'll make sure to send word to you of General Tullius' decision about your pardon."

The torturer's assistant and the two other Imperial soldiers had already gone to the stables to get a cart hired to Whiterun. Hadvar, Victoria and I were somewhat alone, as the civilians had already gone into town to secure our lodging for the night.

"Captain, are you certain of this?" Victoria nodded once. I was a bit confused by the exchange and looked between the two. "Orpheus, there is something that we might still ask of you. You've already saved the lives of everyone here. And yet, there is something else."

Victoria spoke up next. "The others have given me their word that they did not see any clue or trail of my whereabouts if the General asks." She started. "I would like to ask that you allow me to accompany you on your travels. The sword and shield I carry are yours. The armor I wear is yours. I shudder to think what I might've become if you hadn't arrived. You could have killed me like you did so many of those brigands." She paused. "If I was in your place, I would have. Yet, you saw fit to spare me. Allow me to offer myself to you as a guard. If you do, then I shall no longer Captain the retinue of General Tullius, but I shall do as you order, for my life belongs to you."

Okay… what the actual hell? Imperials don't have a culture of life debts, so what is actually going on right now?

**Despite the quantification of Reputation only reaching 100 in terms of the value you can see, this NPC has reached much higher than that! That is what the Loyalty system is meant to showcase. Generally speaking, the Loyalty of a Reputation 100 NPC starts at 50. However, in cases where their Reputation would go over 100, 1% of the additional Reputation that would've been gained is converted into Loyalty. The woman before you is quite grateful for what you did, it seems.**

Well, at least the Voice is being helpful, in its own sickly-sweet, sociopathic way. I realized that I hadn't responded to Victoria's speech so I closed my eyes for a moment. I already knew that she would leave the Legion. The System told me that much. I didn't realize it would go this way though. Truthfully, I didn't really think about what that notification meant.

"I'll accept your sword and shield by my side." I finally replied. "It will be nice to have your support. I feel like I'll probably require it in the coming weeks." The former Captain gave the barest hint of a smile and nodded. "Still, you should've given me some warning of this, Hadvar."

The man only smiled in response. "Now, now. I can't go ruining the good surprises, can I?" Shaking my head, I watched as his smile slipped a bit and he sighed. "Still, I do wish we'd met under better circumstances, Orpheus. With less dragons and rebels, we might've had longer together." The other soldiers were coming back. "Goodbye."

"I think you mean, until we meet again, Hadvar." I corrected with a smile. I really would miss Hadvar. He had really grown on me. I always liked him in-game, but now that he was a real person and we'd fought together, I was going to look forward to that drink with him in Solitude. I didn't even care for alcohol, but having friends was always nice.

"Until we meet again, my friend."

**+7 Reputation with Hadvar (75/100) for a solemn, but happy, farewell**

As four of our group of nine left, I turned to Victoria. "We should head inside, don't you think?" She nodded and followed after me. Pretty soon though, I realized that I'd forgotten one little detail about the game. The guards refused to allow the civilians inside. We moved a little faster and I caught the tail end of the guard telling them to leave.

"Just as I told them, official business only." He explained.

"We just came from Helgen." I replied. "I've got a message for the Jarl from Riverwood and the Captain of General Tullius' personal guard." I mean, with Victoria at my side, I think Hadvar would be next in line for that position. Either that, or some completely random mook that I've never heard of. I was taking a bit of a gamble, but it was necessary.

The guards shared a glance. "And who might you be?" One of them asked. "You're not wearing anything marking you as Legion." I waved their concern away.

"Of course I'm not. There are Stormcloaks and bandits everywhere on these roads. Listen, there was an attack on Helgen and there's reason to believe that Riverwood is in imminent danger. I need to speak with the Jarl about it as soon as I can and deliver the messages." Reaching into my robe, I activated my inventory and made it seem as if I pulled Hadvar's letter from there. It had the seal of the Legion on it, which made the guards share another glance. This was a lot more difficult than the game.

Well, I do have a number of stat points left, don't I? I guess I could throw them into Charisma. It's not like I can't farm for more stat points now that I can grind Wave 5. Mentally spending my points until Charisma hit 80, I tried to push my luck. "Surely word had to have reached Whiterun by now of the dragon attack on Helgen? We were there and we survived. That's why our message to the Jarl is of the utmost importance."

It seemed to crack the guards finally. "Alright. We'll let you in. Just don't go and cause any trouble, alright?" I nodded as they signaled someone on the wall. After a moment, one of the large, wooden doors opened up enough to allow us passage. "Gods help us if a dragon attacks here." I heard one of them mumble under their breath.

Don't worry, the Dragonborn will help you. I need all those souls for my Shouts, after all. Oh, and the loot, too. I wonder if I could get Eorlund to make me Dragonscale and Dragonbone Armor if I join the Companions and give him the materials? That would be pretty sweet. I don't even know how to get smithing levels or perks yet. That would make things much easier.

That sort of thing would need to wait though. I still had a couple things to do before I fought Mirmulnir, after all. Once inside Whiterun, the civilians were once again tasked with finding us lodging. Victoria directed them towards the Bannered Mare. I had more than enough gold to cover months of inn expenses, and the capability to easily farm lots of Septims through my Instant Dungeon each night.

That said, I told them that I would only cover their lodging for a week, since I didn't intend on staying Whiterun very long anyways. A sense of urgency would motivate them, after all.

Victoria and I, on the other hand, would make our way to Dragonsreach. This was easier said than done. Despite seeing the increased scale of Whiterun, I hadn't expected… well, an actual city.

Upon entering, I saw Warmaidens and the Drunken Huntsmen easily enough. However, the rest of the Plains District was unfamiliar. It extended in both directions, from what I could tell, and was likely a truly tiered city now. If I strained my eyes, I could see the bazaar where the farmers and hawkers of Whiterun had stalls set up to sell their foodstuffs and wares. Somewhere past that had to lie the Bannered Mare. Lining the streets past Warmaidens to our right and the Drunken Huntsman on our left, shops and houses were compacted together.

I'd have to do some exploring in a bit, but for now Victoria and I made our way to Dragonsreach. It was only midday, so we'd have plenty of time for that later.

As we passed through the Wind District, my eyes wandered a bit. I spotted Jorrvaskr, the Gildergreen and Heimskr. He was shouting to the skies about Talos, as usual. This one was filled with far more housing than the Plains District. I definitely would need to come back here later.

As we passed Heimskr to the steps that led up Dragonsreach, Victoria passed a glance over him. "I will give the rebels their due in this. They are certainly filled with the conviction to die for their ideas." I'm not sure what I expected her voice to sound like, but that tone full of respect was certainly not it. "There are members of the Legion not half as brave as that man there."

She wasn't necessarily wrong, I don't think. Just because the treaty with the Aldmeri Dominion forbade Talos worship doesn't mean that the soldiers of the Legion stopped doing so. Heimskr put his life on the line every single day to sing the praises of an illegal god in what basically amounted to pseudo-Imperial territory.

"Faith is powerful." I responded as we ascended towards our destination. "When you believe in something higher than yourself, when you believe that there is something greater to work towards, you are capable of so much more than you can do on your own. That is why the Stormcloaks fight on despite the odds. They have an ideal to gather behind. The Legion is following orders."

I paused a moment. "Despite that, the Stormcloaks are flawed. The Empire needs to remain whole so that we can push the Thalmor back. Idealism and spirit can only take you so far in this terrible world."

"If you think that way, then why do you refuse to join the Legion yourself?" She wondered. Oh boy, was I going to have to deal with her trying to recruit me now that Hadvar was gone? I hope not.

"I'm not a soldier. I wander where I wish and do what I please. I'll help the Legion where I can, but I'm really not cut out for the Legion lifestyle." My response was nearly immediate at this point. "There are things I feel like I… we have to do before we make our way to Solitude, anyways. If I joined up with the Legion, then there's so many things here in Skyrim that I wouldn't be able to do anymore."

Before our conversation could continue, we were stopped by a Whiterun guard. "Identify yourself. The Jarl is not taking any visitors right now." I smiled at him and watched as his guard dropped a tad. Fucking hell, 80 Charisma is so useful.

"We're terribly sorry to interrupt whatever the Jarl is doing, but we have urgent information that he needs right now. We have news from Helgen about the dragon attack." The guard widened his eyes and glanced towards the castle before nodding. He stepped aside and allowed us to move through.

"You seem to have quite a knack for convincing soldiers to let you do whatever you want." Victoria commented. I didn't reply in any way but with a smile as we opened the door to Dragonsreach and headed inside.

I could already hear voices as I shut the door. Irileth drew her blade and approached us as soon as she heard the door move, I imagine. "What is the meaning of this interruption? Jarl Balgruuf is not receiving visitors right now." She demanded to know, eyes locked onto Victoria.

Oh, that's right. Victoria _does _probably seem more dangerous than me. She's wearing armor, carrying a sword and probably has the look of a soldier in her eyes. "I have news from Helgen about the dragon attack." I explain, immediately drawing her attention to me.

She paused a moment before sheathing her blade. "Well, that explains why the guards let you in. Come on then. The Jarl will want to speak with you personally." Victoria gave me a look as we followed behind her. I feel like she might be forming an opinion of me based on the silver tongue this high Charisma is giving me.

"Who's this then?" Jarl Balgruuf seemed to measure the two of us up as we approached. Victoria stayed silent. I think she was leaving it to me since I was the official messenger. "I trust you have something vitally important to tell me? Important enough to interrupt me in the middle of a council."

"My name is Orpheus Kidwell, a merchant and scholar by trade." I introduce myself. "I have news from Helgen, about the dragon attack." The Jarl straightened a bit in his seat as he regarded me.

"You were there? You were at Helgen?" I nodded. "You saw the dragon with your own eyes?" He seemed to be eagerly awaiting the answer.

"I was. The Imperial Legion had captured Ulfric Stormcloak and were prepared to execute him. That was when the dragon attacked." There was no reason to mention that I was also going to be executed.

"I should've guessed that Ulfric would be mixed up in this." Balgruuf sighed. He then looked to his steward. "What do you say now, Proventus? Shall we continue to trust in the strength of our walls? Against a dragon?"

From here, they just went through their normal dialogue. Irileth saying that they should move troops to Whiterun to protect it. Proventus saying the Jarl of Falkreath will see that as provocation. The Jarl refusing to stand by and let his people die for the sake of politics. Then, he turned to me again.

"Well done, you sought me out on your own initiative. You've done Whiterun a great service and I won't forget it. I'd like to give you something as a token of my esteem." He waved a servant over and whispered something to them, causing them to run off. Balgruuf then stood from his throne.

**Quest [A Favor for the Blacksmith] completed!**

**+12 Reputation with Alvor the Blacksmith (32/100) for keeping your word.**

**+11 Reputation with Sigrid (21/100) for keeping your word.**

**+10 Reputation with Riverwood faction (10/100) for aiding in their protection.**

**+5 Reputation with Jarl Balgruuf the Greater (5/100) for delivering the message.**

**+6 Reputation with Irileth (6/100) for delivering the message.**

**+6 Reputation with Proventus (6/100) for delivering the message.**

**+5 Reputation with Whiterun faction (5/100) for delivering the message.**

"There is something else you could do for me though, if you're willing. It's suitable for someone of your particular talents, perhaps. Come, let us find Farengar, my court wizard. He's been looking into a matter relating to these dragons and… rumors of dragons."

"What sort of matter?" I ask, feigning curiosity. "As I said before, I'm something of a scholar myself. Seeing something I thought was nothing but a mere legend with my own eyes was a harrowing, but intriguing experience." The Jarl chuckled.

**+1 Reputation with Jarl Balgruuf the Greater (6/100)**

"Oh, I think Farengar is going to like you." Even as he said that, we arrived in the very wizard's lab. Just like with everything else, Dragonsreach was much bigger. The throne room was probably about double the size of the game, and we actually had to go down a hallway to reach Farengar's location.

The lab itself was _nothing _like what I was expecting. It was something like three or four times larger than usual, to start with. There were also several workstations that seemed to be dedicated to different projects. I didn't actually see an Alchemy or Enchanting table though.

Instead, there were several tools on one of the tables that seemed dedicated to alchemy, more like a chemist's lab than the table from the game. There were glass bottles of various sizes and shapes scattered and filled with all manner of materials.

What I imagined was the new enchanting setup was a large table with various Soul Gems and a dagger. There were symbols etched into the wood, but they didn't glow like the game's enchanting table did. It seemed as if Farengar preferred to do things a particular way.

Speaking of which, the court wizard was sitting, his eyes scanning over a particularly thick book, and mumbling to himself as he wrote notes. "Farengar." The Jarl spoke up, gaining the man's attention. "I have someone here who might be able to help with your project."

Farengar stood and eyed me a bit. "Ah, so the Jarl thinks you can be of use to me? Oh yes, he must be referring to my research into the dragons. Yes, I could use someone to fetch something for me. Well, when I say fetch, I really mean delve into a dangerous ruin in search of an ancient stone tablet that may or may not actually be there."

"Well, it certainly can't be more dangerous than surviving that dragon attack on Helgen." I mention, watching with some amusement as Farengar's eyes light up. "You would not believe how amazing it was to see one up close."

"You were there when it attacked? I've been looking into dragons for quite some time, but when the news reached me that one had shown up it was really quite amazing to hear. I've been doing my best to scour tomes and rumors for anything that might give me more insight, but there's very little that's survived from the Second Age here in Whiterun."

"What is this stone tablet that I'm looking for? We can discuss things about the dragon that attacked Helgen later, but I did tell the Jarl I'd help you. I may not be a court wizard, but I do think of myself as something of a scholar and a mage." Farengar seemed to straighten a bit as I talked.

"Ah, so you've got some knowledge of the Higher Art then? Well, simply put, the tablet is a map of dragon burial sites. If I had that, we could locate the corpses of dragons and perform some tests. We're not even sure what can harm a dragon right now, so being able to perform some rudimentary examinations would certainly help."

"Ah. That's actually quite useful. Not to mention, there would surely be all sorts of artifacts from earlier Ages that we could study. If it's a map of burial grounds, then wouldn't they be temples built by those that worshiped the Dragons before the Dragon War?" Farengar nodded, seemingly excited that I was of the same mind as him. I couldn't help it.

Despite scholar being a cover-story for my background, I really was interested in this sort of stuff. The Elder Scrolls lore really was quite fascinating and being able to learn about these sort of things up close and personal would be really exciting. Of course, the battles were exciting too, but discovering aspects of Skyrim's history for myself was on a whole different level!

**+21 Reputation with Farengar Secret-Fire (21/100) for being more than a simple brute).**

Jarl Balgruuf coughed to get our attention. "As you stated before, Orpheus, you two can discuss dragons later. If this map can help us get an advantage against the dragons though, we really do need it as soon as we can." Farengar nodded, losing his excited look for a more stoic one.

"Of course, Jarl. Are you familiar with Bleak Falls Barrow? It's an old Nordic temple just outside Riverwood, to our south. That's the location the Dragonstone is in, if I'm correct. I don't know much about it myself, but I'm sure the locals there would be able to help you."

"We had to go through Riverwood to get here from Helgen, so we know what you're talking about. One of them even pointed my attention to the Barrow on our way to Riverwood. We'll probably need a few days to get things ready, but you'll have your Dragonstone, Farengar."

"Wonderful! If you need any aid before you leave that I can offer, I'm more than happy to oblige a fellow scholar. As I said, I don't really have much in the way to offer in regards to the Barrow itself, but I'm sure there's something else."

"Thank you, Farengar." I then turned to the Jarl. "Jarl Balgruuf, if we're going on a trek that long then we'll likely need to get better gear. You wouldn't happen to know of a smith in the city that we can order something from on short notice?" The Jarl pursed his lips in thought, before nodding.

"Eorlund is the best in Skyrim, but I'm not sure short notice is something even I can get for you. You may be better off asking Adrianne. When you came into town, I'm sure that you saw Warmaidens? It is run by my steward's daughter and her husband. I will ask Proventus to help you get it done before her other orders. This is a project of utmost importance for not only the city, and the Hold, but all of Skyrim."

"Thank you, Jarl." I replied gratefully. I know I could have likely just picked up something from the shop itself, but I really needed for Victoria to have some custom-made armor. It would be easier for her to move in and if the Jarl asked for it, Adrianne would be more inclined to make something better. I didn't really need anything custom-made. Just a proper shield and maybe some better enchanted robes from Farengar and I'd be content. Money wouldn't be too big of an issue, considering the Instant Dungeon, but it did take time to farm. That's why I wanted a few days here.

My thoughts were interrupted as a servant finally entered the lab. "Ah, here we are." Balgruuf smiled. "I wanted to show my gratitude for your service to us, so please take this." The servant stepped towards me and handed me a shield. I examined it a bit, before using Observe. It was a large, round shield with intricate designs that seemed to be made of some sort of steel.

**Heavy Skyforge Shield (Flawless)**

**A shield crafted by Eorlund Grey-Mane for Jarl Balgruuf and gifted to Orpheus Kidwell. Made from high-grade steel at the Skyforge, it is stronger than regular steel and Eorlund's craftsmanship has improved it even further.**

"Thank you, Jarl. I really appreciate it." I told him gratefully with a bow of my head. "I'm sure it will find use on my journey."

"Eorlund would be happy to know it was no longer gathering dust in my armory, I think." The Jarl said with a chuckle. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have matters to attend to. I'll allow you to get things prepared for your journey." With that, Balgruuf turned and headed back to the throne room.

I then turned to Farengar. "I don't suppose I could trouble you, as well, Farengar?" I asked him. The wizard seemed curious. "You see, my field of magic is entirely in the Destruction and Alteration schools. As a merchant, I wanted something to keep me alive and my wares protected on the dangerous roads. I've never really attempted a single Conjuration spell, let alone tried my hand at enchanting. I noticed that you, however, seem to be quite skilled at it."

I glanced over at his enchanting station conspicuously so that he'd understand. "I'd offer you just compensation, of course, but I do think that getting a few things worked on by you would help. Truthfully, I only need Adrianne to make new gear for Victoria here. I'd much rather have a nice enchanted robe and a Flesh spell than steel plate."

Farengar seemed to mull over it for a bit before nodding. "I think that should be fine. I did offer to help you, after all. I have a few things that I was going to do, but keeping you alive will help secure the Dragonstone. Bring me the gear you wish to have enchanted and I'll only charge you for the Soul Gems used. Consider your little quest the compensation for the enchanting itself."

"Thank you, Farengar. I'll head into town and get what I need. Hopefully I'll be back before the day's end." A pop up informing me of a passed speech check was all I needed to know that increasing my Charisma was the ideal choice.

Victoria and I made our way out of Dragonsreach then. After we were on the steps descending back into the Wind District, she spoke. "Are you certain that you're a merchant, and not a noble?" She asked. I glanced at her. "You seem to be quite comfortable around all manner of people in Dragonsreach. Usually, a traveling merchant, even one from Cyrodiil, would be at least somewhat nervous."

"I can assure you, that I'm no noble, Victoria." I responded quickly. "I just know the importance of what we're doing, and don't allow things like class or royalty to get in the way of my job. Everyone is equally a meal to a dragon, after all." She seemed to ponder what I said before nodding.

"Maybe you're right. I never was one to read too much into the dragons. Now that I've seen one though, it really does hit home just how dangerous they are." As we reached the bottom of the steps, I asked my own question.

"Why didn't you speak though? Surely you had something to add at any point in our conversations in the castle." The woman chuckled.

"I was perfectly content with allowing you to carry on. I am your guard, not your steward. It is my place to draw my sword in your defense, not to prattle on with the blue-bloods. That is all." Is that how it was then?

"Your opinion is welcome. I have a feeling that we're going to be exposed to quite the danger on our little fetch quest, so you should give your input as well." Victoria paused a moment before nodding.

"I have no issues with what we are doing." She followed me without a word as I guided us in a particular direction, Heimskr's shouts becoming distant. "Jarl Balgruuf is not a rebel sympathizer, and he has remained a man loyal to the Empire, even if he refuses to attack the Stormcloaks. He seems to hold a similar sentiment to yours." When I stopped, Victoria seemed confused. "Where are we?"

"Whiterun's Hall of the Dead." I explained. "I need to off-load these corpses, remember?" Her eyes lit up with recognition as she looked at the stairs leading down to the catacombs. "While I'm doing this, could you head to Warmaiden's and meet this Adrianne? As I told Farengar, I want you to be outfitted with some proper steel armor. I'll head over there after I'm finished here and take care of whatever the cost is. I don't know much about armor myself, so you'll need to take care of the specifics anyways."

"Of course. I'll get on it right away." She replied before leaving. Alright, time to get rid of these corpses and retrieve that Amulet of Arkay. There's so much to do here in Whiterun. I hope I can get everything taken care of before I leave.

**And that's it!**

**So, this chapter gave me... far more trouble than I'd like to admit. It's not even a matter of rewriting anything. I just, frankly, _didn't know what to do_. However, with the difficult parts of this chapter out of the way, everything else should flow a lot more smoothly.**

**Anyways! I promised two announcements, and so I shall deliver.**

**First one is a announcement. I finally decided to actually start one after some... nagging from certain individuals. Rather, I've had one for some time but didn't tell anyone. Anyways, it's on my bio as well, but if you'd like to donate to me so I can free more time from work: Pat (slash) OrpheusKidwell**

**Secondly, I'm shilling something. Not a story, or a writer, but a podcast. TrueSneakyDevil has had me on his podcast several times at this point, so if any of want to listen to a bunch of guys read terrible fanfiction and go on tangents to keep from reading all the terrible fanfiction, then it's over on (slash) TrueSneakyDevil on Tuesdays and Fridays at 7-9 PM Eastern Time.**

**Lastly, don't forget to let me know your thoughts in the Reviews, via PM, or over on my Discord server at (slash) PWDD44v**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	8. Chapter VIII: A Few Quick Errands

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter VIII: A Few Quick Errands  
**

Upon entering the Hall of the Dead, I noted that it, surprisingly, wasn't that much larger than in the game. At least, the main room. There were more doors than I remembered, but those likely led to things like Andur's embalming room, a viewing room, things like that. When I entered, I was greeted by the very Priest of Arkay I was looking for.

"Greetings and welcome to Whiterun's Hall of the Dead. I am Andurs, the Head Priest of this Hall. That is to say, I'm also the _only _Priest of this Hall, so perhaps the title is a bit redundant." He gave me a once over, probably trying to get an impression of me.

"Good afternoon to you, Priest of Arkay. I am Orpheus Kidwell. I wish I was coming here on a more cheerful occasion, but, you see, I'm actually here to inquire about the temple's services. I recently came into possession of… a dozen and a half corpses that I'd like to have buried properly here."

To Andurs' credit, he only blinked a couple times at what I said. "And how, exactly, does one come into possession of so many corpses?" He wondered.

"Ah, well, they were a bunch of bandits that attacked me. I'm a merchant, you see. I killed more than just these, but the others turned to ash, so I'm not particularly afraid that they'd be used by a necromancer to attack the countryside." Something seemed to click in Andurs' head and he nodded.

"I see. The will of Arkay is strong in you, boy. I would be more than happy to take care of that for you, but there is a slight… issue. I seem to have… misplaced my Amulet of Arkay in the catacombs. You see, it is the source of my powers, the relic which my connection to Arkay is channeled through. Without it, I am just another Man. I admit to being more than a little afraid to retrieve it myself. The dead seem to have become… restless in my absence."

"Ah, so you want me to go down into the crypt, face an unknown number of undead and search for an amulet I've never seen blindly in the dark, right?" Andurs seemed to pause as I explained what his request consisted of a bit more bluntly than he might've liked. "Sure, it doesn't seem like something outside of my capability. I'll be back in no time."

"Thank you, Mr. Kidwell." Andurs replied with a grateful smile.

**+10 Reputation with Andurs (10/100) for agreeing to go into the crypt.**

**Quest [Into the Breach] added.**

**Retrieve Andurs' [Amulet of Arkay] from the Whiterun Crypt.**

**Rewards: Increased Reputation with Andurs and Arkay, ?, ?, 100 XP and Gold**

I nodded to him and looked around until I found the entrance to the catacombs. Without another word, I made my way into the dark tomb, shutting the door behind me.

**Entering Dungeon [Whiterun Crypt]**

**Objective: Kill 10 Undead**

**Optional: Kill 25 Undead**

**Optional: Kill 50 Undead**

**Optional: Kill 100 Undead**

I'm sorry. _What?_ There is _absolutely _no way in Oblivion that the game's version of the Hall of the Dead could hold anywhere near that many mobs. Just what did I get myself involved in? Should I have brought Victoria along, after all?

No, no. It's fine. I can handle this. I've been training to fight undead, after all. It should be perfectly fine. Just how enormous was this crypt though? Those numbers make it seem like it should be more like the size of Bleak Falls Barrow.

Actually, wouldn't that make a lot of sense? This is supposed to be the catacomb of the city that's been Skyrim's economic center for centuries, if not longer. It's likely that what was shown in-game is nowhere near close to what it actually should be in terms of size. Alright. Time to go dungeoneering. Hopefully this Amulet isn't too far off. I have other errands to run, after all.

With that in mind, I stepped away from the door. Nearly as soon as I did, I heard a familiar song began to play. Is it actually possible that the soulless corporation which is the System actually has a sense of humor? No… that's impossible.

**Due to your actions, the album [Intense Symphonic Metal Covers, Vol. 14 by FalKKone] has been added to your music player.**

**Now Playing… Spooky Scary Skeletons**

Exiting the notification, I can't help but chuckle. Perhaps it really does have a sense of humor. Well, there are worse things to fight undead to, after all. Now, I just needed to do something about this darkness.

Holding out my hand, palm upwards, I concentrated on making a fireball. However, I didn't want to throw it. The ball of flames began swirling in my hand as I tried to keep it under control before shooting off deeper into the crypt anyways. Dammit. This magic thing is hard when you don't have skills.

**That would be by intention! You see, skill and spell creation are systems locked behind the Level 100 reward for classes. If you wish to make some new Elementalist spells, you'll need to grind those levels!**

Well, that would've been useful information before. Oh well. There's always the back-up plan. Opening my app store menu, I began looking through it. With a grin, I was happy to find a Flashlight app for 2500 coins. I could grind for those back later. With a mental command, my line of sight illuminated. That was much better. It probably wreaks havoc on my stealth abilities though.

Ignoring that sentiment, I pushed ahead. My newly gained ability to see in the Crypt was useful almost immediately as it fell upon a trio of skeletons. Nearly as soon as the light hit them, they turned to me in unison. Could they see the light? I wonder how they see anything without any eyes.

I quickly decided that those ponderings could wait as they rushed towards me. Well, two of them did, anyways. The other one stayed behind and began to take aim with a bow. The two rushing me had a greatsword and a battle-ax. Wonderful.

A wall raised in front of the archer in time for me to hear its arrow hitting stone. That taken care of, I focus on the greater threat to my life. Casting one of my newer spells, I watched as the ground before me shifted. In but a moment, two large spears of stone struck the ribcages of my opponents causing bones to fly everywhere. Readying a Fireball, I lowered my wall and hit the archer.

Examining the weapons they left behind, it seemed like the melee ones were made of steel, the bow was similar to the ones the Legion used and the arrows were also steel. The bigger question I had, though, was why were they armed?

I didn't think about it too much when I played the game, but everything about this world seemed to add layers of realism. Were the Nords buried with their weapons, or was there a Necromancer at work here that somehow managed to sneak into what was essentially a Temple of Arkay?

Well, the latter seemed fundamentally impossible. Arkay would likely ensure the destruction of any necromancer daring to enter his hallowed ground. That meant that these Nords had to have been buried with their weapons.

Well, adding a few new weapons to my inventory wasn't necessarily a bad idea. I'm not too certain what I should do with the bones though. Let's just store those as well. I'll hand them over to Andurs after I'm done here.

Heading past the where the archer was, I found myself in a long hallway. Small alcoves lined the walls, stacked four high with a corpse in each.. There wasn't really any way for me to determine which ones were undead and which were regular dead. That might be an issue, but it's not as if I had Detect Undead, so no use worrying about it.

At the very end of the hall, there was an oak door. Luckily, it was unlocked. Opening it, I noted that it was full of even more corpses. There were also several tables and chairs in here, decorative goblets and bowls and some embalming tools. When the door opened, a couple of the corpses also reacted. I didn't even let them get out of their holes in the wall.

A couple of Fireballs later and the dead were silent once more. Those ones were still in their graves, so I left them where they were. They also didn't seem to have any weapons. Strange. Just what was up with this place?

Looking around the room, the Amulet of Arkay was nowhere to be found. I turned around only to find the hallway teeming with several more undead. I counted half a dozen and they all were armed. I watched another join them, it glowed momentarily when its feet hit the stone. One moment, it was just a corpse, then it turned into a skeleton with a sword and shield.

It was the game that was turning them into mobs then. Well, that just meant that I was going to get more XP then, didn't it? I launched several stone spears from the ground again, shattering the bodies of the skeletons. Scanning over the area, I found their equipment and added their bodies to the growing pile in my inventory.

Moving back to the place I started, I noted that there were two more directions I could move. Either I keep going forward and deal with the other room I can see, or I go further down into the catacombs. Clearly, there was only one way to do this. I needed to be methodical and clear every part of the catacomb that I possibly could. I wasn't about to lose out on any XP.

**[20 Minutes Later]**

It took far longer than I would've liked, but I finally found the damn thing. My clock app told me it was 20 minutes. My inventory told me I'd pushed through 107 corpses to get here. I'd ignored the notifications I received up until now. Seeing as how II was in the relative safety of the location I'd found the amulet in, I felt more comfortable perusing them, though.

Two extra levels from this quest was really nice, actually. However, the levels themselves didn't matter too much. Apparently I had accumulated a nice little cache of rewards.

**Objective [Kill 10 Undead] achieved.**

**Reward: Uncommon Gacha, 100 XP, 100 Gold Received**

**Optional Objective [Kill 25 Undead] achieved.**

**Reward: Rare Gacha, 250 XP, 250 Gold Received.**

**Optional Objective [Kill 50 Undead] achieved.**

**Reward: Super Rare Gacha, 500 XP, 500 Gold Received.**

**Optional Objective [Kill 100 Undead] achieved.**

**Reward: [Spook] T****itle**** acquired, Increased Reputation with Arkay**

**Level 25 Rewards acquired.**

**[Fire Rune]: Create a magical rune on a flat surface that explodes for Fire damage when a living or undead entity passes it.**

**[Ice Rune] already acquired. 10 INT and WIS awarded instead.**

**[Lightning Rune] Create a magical rune on a flat surface that explodes for Lightning damage to HP and MP when a living or undead entity passes it.**

**[Earth Rune] Create a magical rune on a flat surface that creates an explosion of stone fragments when a living or undead entity passes it.**

**[Ranged] Class Slot Unlocked!**

**[Warrior] Class Slot Unlocked!**

**[Rogue] Class Slot Unlocked!**

**[Artisan] Class Slot Unlocked!**

**[Spook]: You've grown accustomed to making sure the dead stay dead and learned from your experience. All attacks deal 10% extra damage to undead.**

**+10 Reputation with Arkay (10/100) for exterminating so many undead from his Hall of the Dead in Whiterun when you didn't have to.**

There was a lot to digest all at once. I was getting somewhat used to being barraged by notifications at this point though. The Gacha, XP and Gold were familiar rewards at this point, so I mostly ignored those. The title was nice, and the rep with Arkay was interesting, but there was clearly a much more important thing to address.

"Oh, Great Disembodied Voice of the Board of Directors. What the fuck is this? I thought I was only getting three new classes? Where did Ranged come from? Having more class slots is good, I suppose, but a little warning would be nice."

**Oh! You unlocked those much more quickly than we thought you would! You're doing a great job! There was a patch update a few days ago, and we split the Rogue Class Slot into the Rogue and Ranged Class slot due to some feedback of other Gamers.**

"That seems like the kind of thing that I should be informed of, don't you think? I didn't even get a notification or anything."

**You are more than free to sign up for email notifications for patches, if you would like. However, let's get to the more important part! Unlocking these additional slots means that we can finally explain how the System will expand!**

**With your first 25 levels out of the way, your tutorial section is nearly complete! The simplistic design and intuitive features were quite wonderful, weren't they? We've found that 25 levels is usually enough to get our Players accustomed to that, and so we can begin adding complexity.**

**Now, you know how all of your XP has been funneled solely into your Elementalist Class? That will all change starting the moment you select your other classes. Each of your Class Slots can equip a single Class at a time, though you may change your primary Class and Sub-Class at a moment's notice.**

**The Primary Class grants an addition bonuses to both that field of expertise and the more specific sub-class. As an example, let's look at your Elementalist sub-class. While it is your primary class, all actions derived from magic grant a 25% bonus to XP, with Elemental Magic adding another 25% on top of that.**

**With the Class Slot system, however, XP will not be solely funneled into a single class. From here on, only class-related actions will go into a particular class. Quest, challenge, ambition and dungeon objective-based XP gains will, however, be classified as general XP and may be applied to any of your equipped classes. Any questions?**

"Well, thanks for the exposition dump. Let's see." I genuinely thought about this for a moment. This was actually really important, since all levels were directly tied to classes. On one hand, I could stay with just Elementalist and keep funneling all of my experience into it, but what use would that be? It looked like I was able to take on most things on my own or with Victoria at my side. With better equipment, it would go even more smoothly.

On the other hand, I had a couple of Gacha prizes I couldn't use yet, I could unlock the crafting system with Artisan and there was also the matter of the Ebony Blade. "I get it. I'll pick my classes tonight. For now, I've got too many errands to deal with." With that, I made my way back to Andurs. No corpses blocked me, though I do think I heard a bit of rustling every now and then on my trek.

When I finally got back, I found a somewhat nervous looking Andurs. When he saw me, his eyes seemed to light up and his posture relaxed. "You would not believe what I had to do to get this." I said as I materialized the Amulet from my inventory and handed it to him. "Oh, I also might have… a bit more than a dozen and a half bodies for you as well. I didn't want to just leave bones all over the place, so I figured you might want me to bring those as well."

He looked very confused, so I explained. "I have a particular kind of magic that lets me store objects away and retrieve them whenever I want." To emphasize the point, I materialized one of the skeletal corpses on the floor next to us, then stored it back. "I'm not too sure how it works, myself, but I'm not one to reject a gift, so I just use it to my benefit."

"That does seem like it would be quite useful." Andurs commented as he put his Amulet back on. "There was quite a bit of noise from the catacombs after you went in. I hope there wasn't too much trouble?" I chuckled and shook my head.

"A little over 100 undead worth of trouble, if I'm being honest. Still, they were pretty weak to my magic, so no complaints. I thought that Arkay hated the undead though. How did a bunch of corpses start walking in one of his hallowed temples?" Andurs sighed.

"I'm not certain myself. This sort of thing is somewhat new to me. It just seems that ever since this blasted war started that things have gone all lop-sided. I appreciate your help, I only wish I could repay you." I waved away his concern.

"Don't worry about it. I don't really like the undead anyways. I may not be a devout follower of Arkay, but a corpse that moves is a corpse that deserves to burn, as far as I'm concerned. Well, maybe not that, precisely, since I didn't burn any of them. You get what I mean though."

**Quest: [Into the Breach] Complete!**

**+50 Reputation with Andurs (60/100) for returning his Amulet.**

**Perk [Brothers in Faith] added.**

**+30 Reputation with Arkay (40/100) for helping his priest retrieve his Amulet.**

**Perk [Minor Blessing of Arkay] added.**

**Title [Bane of the Undead] added.**

**100 XP and Gold added.**

**[Brothers in Faith]: Increased Reputation with Priests, Priestesses and Holy Warriors.**

**[Minor Blessing of Arkay]: Passive [Detect Undead] acquired.**

**[Bane of the Undead]: +25% Damage against Undead.**

After I dismissed the additional notifications I knew were coming, I got the sudden sense that something was off. I couldn't quite place my finger on it, but the room just felt… heavier, for some reason.

**[Gamer's Mind] nullified Arkay's [Divine Pressure].**

Arkay's what now? Looking towards Andurs, there didn't seem to be any actual physical changes, but by the Gods was he emanating… something. I couldn't really describe the feeling, no thanks to Gamer's Mind dulling my senses to a ridiculous degree. At least I wasn't panicking or in terror. Having a clear head in this circumstance was probably very good.

"**Hello, Mr. Kidwell. You are certainly growing into an amusing Man to watch." **When Andurs spoke, I no longer had any doubts. Arkay was… possessing the Priests body in order to talk to me. I certainly hadn't anticipated this. I better be very careful.

"Greetings, Arkay." I replied with a bow of my head. "I hope that whatever I did that caught the eye of an Aedra wasn't something you found distasteful. I have been very careful to treat the dead with the utmost respect, and have no intentions of taking up necromancy."

Arkay's lips twitched ever so slightly. "**Worry not, Child. It was quite the opposite. When corpses began disappearing from the world, I turned my eyes towards what could be happening. Your explanation and actions have proven you to be quite in line with my own wishes. I very much appreciate you bringing them to one of my Halls for a proper burial so that they might elude the twisted hands of those wretched mages."**

"I don't want to see my actions empowering Necromancers anymore than you do." I replied truthfully. "There's already too many walking corpses in Skyrim as it is, if I can mitigate that in any capacity, I'll make sure I do so." Arkay nodded and smiled visibly.

"**That is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to hear." **Arkay stated. "**I knew that my thoughts about you were correct. I would like to make you an offer, if I might. Undead are rising in Skyrim in record numbers. It's not just the necromancers and the vampires either. Some of the dead are walking for no apparent reason.**

"**I would like for you to do as you did today, and take out the undead wherever you might find them. I would like you to search out the dens of necromancers, those blasted vampires in their Castle, and these so-called Draugr in their hard to reach places. If you do this for me, you will have my full blessings. Prove yourself worthy, and you may even be fit to be called my Champion."**

I had to keep control as I heard what he was saying. This was certainly not something that ever happened in the game, or in any mods I've played. I was perfectly ready for doing quests for the Daedric Princes to become their Champions.

If I can also become the Champion of Aedra though, that complicates things a tad. Honestly, while not every Daedric Prince would necessarily be opposed to the Divines, there are certainly some that would be. And given this isn't a game, I might not be able to gain the Blessings of opposing entities.

"I'd be more than happy to do your will, Arkay." I spoke. I definitely don't want to piss off one of the Divines. However, on top of that, I already intended on killing as many undead as I could. Of course, this might lock out being able to go Vampire Lord, but I… might be able to circumvent that somehow. It would be worth my best attempts, anyways.

**+30 Reputation with Arkay (70/100) for agreeing to do as he wishes. He's looking forward to seeing whether you'll be a good Champion with high hopes.**

**Perk [Major Blessing of Arkay] gained.**

**[Major Blessing of Arkay]: Increase CON modifier on HP by 50%.**

That heavy feeling disappeared around the time I dismissed my notifications. Andurs blinked a couple of times and looked around. "I'm terribly sorry, I must have spaced out just now. What was I saying?"

"Nothing much. You just explained that the dead have been rising without necromancers as of late." I quickly explained. "Where would you like me to deposit the corpses for you to deal with?" I ask him. "One of my companions is expecting me at Warmaiden's, and I've made her wait a bit too long already."

Andurs perked up. "Of course! My apologies. Please, follow me." He led me into one of the new rooms that weren't here in the game. It was quite large, though I don't think that it could hold all the corpses I had for him. After telling him as much, he pondered it. The room had several tables that I assumed were for embalming.

"Honestly, with the war going on, I've been a little short on help. My biggest issue is that I don't know whether I can embalm the bodies before they start to rot." I couldn't help but grin at that.

"So, you need some extra hands then?" Andurs nodded.

"The problem that I have is two-fold. First off, in the best of times people don't want to touch the dead. It is a thankless job that is looked down upon. Secondly, with the war going on all of the men and women that I might have been able to recruit for help, even if not apprenticeship, wish to go off into the world either to fight in the war, or join the Dawnguard. I don't wish ill of the latter, by any means. The Dawnguard is doing Arkay's work in a way my old body just couldn't handle."

"I've got a three companions with me that I saved back in Helgen. They came to Whiterun seeking work and a new life. I'll see if I can't convince any of them to help you, maybe even give you an apprentice. In terms of the bodies rotting, time doesn't move inside my spell. I can drop off just a few of the bodies at a time for you to deal with if that's what you'd rather."

**+11 Reputation with Andurs (71/100) for offering to help him find an apprentice.**

**+11 Reputation with Andurs (82/100) for not throwing all of the work on him at once.**

"Thank you. Both of those would be much appreciated." After some conversation, we decided that I would drop off half a dozen now, and half a dozen before I left for the Barrow. Given embalming took more time, it would be the corpses of the bandits that I started with. After I returned from the Barrow, I would off-load another half dozen. I warned him that if I fought any other bandits on my way to, or in the Barrow, then those would just add to the pile. He was very amicable, happy even to be trusted with the rites of those I might slay if it kept those damned necromancers from getting power.

In terms of the skeletal remains, that would wait for a bit. He wished to have some help with that. While he did have a few other people in the temple, they were mostly gone today because of the rumors of dragons. When they returned, and if any of my companions decided to join his Temple, then I could hand them over. With no threat of rot, it was more a space issue than anything as to why he didn't want me to just put them into a room.

Luckily, my inventory put the skeletons back together when I stored them. It was, honestly, shaping up to be just a very useful feature altogether. It cleaned armor and weapons of blood. It put remains together. It kept my growing collection of furniture from gathering dust and somehow they looked polished when they came out. It was a merchant's dream come true.

**That is a very purposeful aspect of your inventory! The mechanics of each Player are fine-tuned to their background, perks, flaws and titles! Because you have the Merchant background, your inventory keeps things in the organized order that a merchant would want. Further alterations to the way your inventory – and other mechanics – may come about based on new qualities you obtain over the course of your journey.**

Thank you, Oh Great Voice of the Void. That is quite helpful to know. Honestly, every time the Voice pipes in, at least it is new information. I'm not sure if that particular thing is something I would've figured out on my own, not without much more time anyways.

Still, my words to Andurs were true. I really did need to find Victoria. With my first six bodies dropped off on six of his embalming tables, I took my leave and headed for Warmaiden's. To both my surprise and relief, it seemed that Victoria and Adrianne were getting along well. I couldn't really make out what they were talking about, but they seemed to be smiling.

Victoria noticed me first and directed Adrianne's attention my way. Before I could even speak up, the blacksmith spoke. "You must be the Mage my father told me of. I am Adrianne Avenicci, owner and proprietor of Warmaiden's." She explained with a bow of her head. "I don't know the exact details just yet, but apparently you've done a great service to our Jarl, our city and our Hold, so you have my gratitude."

"Think nothing of it." I reply with a smile. "I only wished to do my part. Skyrim is my home now too, after all. If you've talked with your father, does that mean you've agreed to help us?" Adrianne nodded.

"I'm sure that the Legion will throw a fit if they ever find out, but this takes precedence over the War. I talked a bit with Victoria here and I think have an understanding of what she wants, but what of you?" I smile and shake my head.

"That won't be necessary. I am a wizard, not a warrior. I've secured the services of Farengar to enchant some things for me in preparation for our outing." I explain. "I had intended on having you forge me a new shield, but the Jarl gifted me with one as thanks for my services." I said. Adrianne glanced to the shield on my arm and nodded.

"One of Eorlund Gray-Mane's, I see." I nodded. "I'm impressed that the Jarl would part with such a fine piece. It really shows exactly how highly he thinks of your deed. I understand your reasoning, however. I will have Victoria's armor and blade taken care of soon. The entire order shouldn't take me more than a week."

"I'm glad to hear that." I say with a smile. "Would you rather receive payment now, or when we pick the order up?" I wonder. Adrianne ponders the offer a moment before shaking her head.

"Guarantees of quality are something a blacksmith of my caliber should not be making. Please wait until you can determine whether it is to her liking before you even think of paying me." Adrianne was quite earnest, it seemed. I'm glad that trait migrated over well from the game to reality.

"If that is what you'd rather, then I don't mind it." After a moment, I looked to my companion. "It was nice meeting you, Adrianne, but we have a few other errands to take care of before the day is out." The smith nodded and went into her shop, likely to gather supplies. Victoria, meanwhile, followed after me.

Over the course of the next few hours, we did a few important things. Our first stop was Belethor's General Store, obviously. Not only did I want to pick up some objects for Farengar to enchant, we also needed some regular clothes. They were less for me, and more for Victoria. All she had was the armor she had been wearing and what Sigrid could spare for her and the Breton woman. I wasn't about to skimp out on the woman responsible for keeping me alive.

So, with that in mind I became quite possibly the first man alive to willingly go clothes shopping for one of his female friends. There's likely a lot of exaggeration there, and it wasn't really that bad. There weren't many good shops to peruse, so whatever Belethor had in stock would have to be good enough.

While there, I also picked up some extra food, alcohol and a few waterskins before heading to Arcadia's Cauldron. She had a much wider selection of general and specialized potions than the Riverwood Trader had. Not a single coin I spent there felt wasted. I didn't actually pick up any of the more generic stuff that Lucan had. No, with a talented alchemist like Arcadia I felt more like grabbing some potions of resistance and deadly poisons, amongst other things. I don't know what the Barrow would have in store for me, so I needed to stay prepared.

After that, it was time to pick up some jewelry from Olfina Gray-Mane. These were explicitly for my deal with Farengar. I needed as much of an advantage as I could get. Also, this was something that I could get enchanted for Victoria before we headed out. I doubt that I'd have time to get her sword and armor properly enchanted before we needed to leave, but giving her at least a few magical trinkets would definitely help.

By the time all of that was done, the sun was already setting. I told Victoria to head to the inn. She needed to get some food, after all. I also needed her to inform the other three that I wanted to speak with them when I got back from Dragonsreach. I needed to haggle with Farengar, after all.

**[Dragonsreach – Farengar's Lab]**

When I reached the lab of the court wizard, he was pouring over a couple of tomes from what I could tell. I made the assumption he was trying to translate one of them, based on his constant mutterings about the strange grammar of the Second Era. Coughing to get his attention, he looked up. "Ah. Orpheus. It is good to see you again." Glancing towards one of the windows in his lab, he then frowned. "You really are cutting it close to your promise of 'by the end of the day' though."

"Apologies, Farengar." I replied. "I got caught up in helping Andurs at the Hall of the Dead with clearing out some undead. Apparently, he'd lost his Amulet and required a mage to retrieve it." The wizard looked at me a moment before deciding to just nod. "Shopping took a bit longer than expected, but I did acquire everything I should require."

"Ah, good." Looking at me, he seemed confused. "Where is it? You don't seem to have anything to carry it in, nor a servant to haul it around for you." I nod and access my inventory. After a moment, a new robe, hood, gloves, boots, several rings, a couple of necklaces, two pairs of earrings and several bracelets appear on Farengar's enchanting table.

"I have a… useful spell for carrying things." I remark a bit cryptically. "I see the look in your eyes. I wouldn't even know how to begin to explain to you how it works. It's something I've always been able to do. Back in the capital, some priest claimed it to be a gift from Zenithar himself. I've just accepted that as the most plausible explanation, though I've no idea why someone like me would be acknowledged by the Aedra, let alone Blessed."

Farengar seemed a tad disappointed by what I said, but nodded. "That is an interesting situation, if nothing else. I assume it has something to do with your interests in the mercantile and arcane arts?" When I nodded, he smiled. "Yes, I suppose your strange combination of occupations is beginning to make more sense to me now."

Well that's good to know. It doesn't make much sense to me besides a convenient backstory and the fact that I like magic. "Anyways, if what I've brought is too large of a project you can let me know and I'll lighten the load." He looked through the things I'd brought and shook his head. "Would it be possible to also have you enchant this as well, then?" I wondered as I rose my shield a little.

"Isn't that the shield that the Jarl gave you?" I nodded. "It wouldn't be an issue of time, but I've not had the chance to enchant anything crafted by Eorland besides the jewelry his wife peddles. I'll save that one for last and make sure the magic is comparable to that man's skill with the hammer. Did you have an idea of what sort of enchantments you'd like?"

"There's a fair few enchantments I thought about picking up." I begin. I was really hoping that the enchantment list expanded along with the Apocalypse spells. "You wouldn't happen to know how to enchant something like Feather Fall into an object would you?"

"It's a relatively simple thing to do, actually." He stated, somewhat indignant. I smiled and nodded.

"Of course. However, you wouldn't believe the incompetence of some people in Cyrodiil with the state the Mages' Guild is in." I quickly reply. No use in getting on his bad side for implying he couldn't do it. "There are six rings in there. I'd like for them to be enchanted two each with Feather Fall, Water Breathing and Resist Magic. The necklaces I need enchanted with Health Regeneration. One of the sets of earrings needs Magic Regeneration, while the other needs Stamina Regeneration. The robe I want to Fortify Destruction and Magicka Regeneration. The hood and gloves should also increase Magicka Regeneration. Lastly, I want the boots to be enchanted with Muffle."

As I was talking, Farengar was writing the order down. "It's quite simple. Did you not have something specific in mind for the shield." After a moment of thought, I explained that I didn't and that I trusted him to do something interesting. The smile he gave me gave me both hopes and chills, somehow. I gave Farengar my farewell and headed out with the promise to be back in a few days to check in on his progress.

After leaving Dragonsreach for the second – but not last – time that day, I quickly found my way to the inn. I was expecting it to get a sizeable scaling up, and The Bannered Mare did not disappoint. It was about four times the size of the in-game version, with three floors instead of two. The tavern was lively, filled with roughly three dozen people. They were singing along with the bard, though it was very slurred.

Searching the crowd, I located Victoria with our three civilians. Making my way to them, I made sure not to bump into the very drunk and very angry Uthgerd the Unbroken. I needed a few warrior levels before I felt confident in brawling her. "Is everyone here then?"

It seemed they hadn't noticed me through their conversation and dinner in the far corner. When I received a nod from them, I smiled. "Wonderful." Sitting down with them, I couldn't even begin talking before a familiar woman came by and asked if I wanted to order a meal. I told Saadia that I did and waited for her to leave. There was no reason to be mean to her before I turned her in to the Alik'r.

**Quest [Beautiful Women Get the Rope Too]**

**Objective: Give the Alik'r Saadia's location**

**Rewards: Reputation Changes with various individuals and factions, ?, ?, 10k Gold, 1000 XP, Rare Gacha Token*2**

Dismissing the notification, I turned to the party. "It seems I've found some work for you three, if you're willing and haven't already secured a position." I explain. Their eyes seemed to light up. "Now, don't get too excited. It's not exactly a fun or glorious occupation. The local Priest of Arkay needs a few extra hands in the Hall of the Dead. More so than usual considering I'm off-loading the corpses of those bandits I killed to rescue you on him. No reason to let a necromancer get ahold of them, right? They've already caused enough trouble. The offer is open, but you're free to refuse."

"I don't think we want to refuse." One of the Nords said. What was his name again? After a quick Observe, it told me that he was called Mirod Laggard. "You've already done so much for us and even found us work on our first day here."

"Well, don't feel obligated to stay working for Andurs if you find something else a bit better." I interject. "I'm sure there's other things you can do, but hauling corpses for him should be enough to pay for beds and food here at the Mare until you find something you enjoy more. If you really wish to do so, just go to the Hall of the Dead tomorrow and tell him I sent you, alright?" All three of them nodded.

Good. I got mostly everything done. Now I just needed to wait until tonight so I could sneak into Dragonsreach and pick up the Ebony Blade, and also finally choose my classes. Things were really starting to progress. I just hope the Barrow isn't nearly as bad as I think it's going to be.

Who am I kidding? It's probably going to be even worse than that.

**And that's it!**

**Things are moving along quite nicely, I think. Make sure to let me know your thought through a review, via PM or over on my Discord at (slash) PWDD44v**

**Also, I have a pat reon now. pat (slash) OrpheusKidwell**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	9. Chapter IX: The Ebony Blade

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter IX: The Ebony Blade**

Despite my plans, it seemed that I was not going to be able to go straight into my Instant Dungeon after eating dinner. The three civilians were more than content to leave me be, but Victoria requested to speak with me in private. Given I had all night to take care of things, there was no reason to disagree. With that in mind, we ended up using my room for the meeting.

"Alright, Victoria. What did you needed to speak with me about?" I ask. "I hope this room has enough privacy for whatever you need to convey." The woman paused a moment before beginning.

"I attempted to gather your attention when we were shopping, but it seemed as if your focus was quite unbreakable." She explained. "There were… a few things that we did not gather, which I feel may be quite important." I hummed in thought and tried to think what she could be referring to. When I couldn't come up with anything, I asked what she meant.

"Well, besides what you have already gathered in terms of foodstuffs, drink, hygiene, attire and equipment, there are some specialty items that you may not have thought of. I will admit that these items are mostly for my benefit, but without them we both may have issues on our hands." I sighed and shook my head.

"If you would kindly just tell me what you're dancing around, we can figure out how much it will cost so I can give you the funds." I finally replied. "If you wanted something a bit extra, I wouldn't have said no. But you are making this sound like I genuinely overlooked something important, so I don't think it's that."

Victoria nodded. "Plainly speaking, I am close to the middle of my cycle and require a few potions to keep it in check." I tried thinking what she was talking about until realization hit me. She was referring to her period. "If we're going to be traveling through the mountains, the blood might attract wolves or bears, maybe even a vampire. If I get any physical pain from it, then that could get us killed in battle. Thanks to the Blacksmith's wife, I already took a potion to ensure that that bandit's seed doesn't result in a child, at least."

Well, that was certainly the furthest thing from my mind for what she'd have to say. I decided it was best to just let her take care of it. "Will 200 Septims suffice?" Pricing was still difficult for me to ascertain. It seemed like Bethesda's economy was hyper-inflated.

Everything I've had to pick up from Lucan, Belethor, Arcadia and Olfina was significantly cheaper. I couldn't really figure out by what ratio or percentage though, since all seemed to be arbitrarily priced. Kind of like an actual economy, now that I think about it.

When she nodded, I pulled 500 Septims from my inventory. Thankfully, it automatically put it into a bag, which I handed to her. "There's double that in there. If there's anything else you think we might find useful or that you want to pick up for yourself, use it." When she seemed like she was going to speak up, I held up my hand.

"Fine, then consider whatever's left over as your pay. I would like to get some rest, though. There are a couple more things I need to take care of in the morning and I would like to be alert for them." She still seemed hesitant, but nodded and left my room. Taking the key to the room I'd been given, I locked it up. I didn't need someone coming in while I was gone.

I knew the moment that the Dungeon had formed thanks to the sudden end of merriment and song in the tavern. It was a bit disconcerting to lose the background noise abruptly, but only just. For some reason, I always found the empty Instant Dungeon somewhat comfortable.

So, what did I need to do? There were my classes, the gacha tokens and the Ebony Blade, then grinding. It was pretty simple, just needed to figure out the order. Well, considering I couldn't actually use the Ebony Blade without a proper Warrior class, I should do that before. That said, should I do my gacha first or second? Hey, Voice. Do my classes affect gacha chances, or is it completely random?

**It is most definitely the former! In all Tier 1 through 4 draws, you will be extremely likely to only pick up items that are class-related. However, all draws that are Ultra-Rare and above have no change in the probability of class-based pulls! Choosing new classes right now would completely change what you might pick up from the tokens in your inventory!**

I'm glad to have such a helpful Voice in my head to explain everything. It really is quite useful in decision making. So, what to do? Do I want more magic, or would it be better to potentially pick up something related to my other classes? Hm… I'll do classes first. I don't really rely too much on the gacha anyways, so I may as well get the change in odds now.

**Warrior Class Chosen. Specializations set to 'High Fantasy'. Please choose a sub-class.**

**[Berserker] [Knight] [Soldier] [Duelist] [Brigand] [Sailor] [Monk]**

I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting here, but this was a much more… diverse range of things than the Mage specializations had given me. Well, there really wasn't any use it picking one based on name alone. Observe should give me some better info.

**[Berserker]: Anger is as much your weapon as any blade. The Berserker gains access to the [Rage] ability and its various subsets, excels in the use of medium and heavy armor and prefers two-handed weapons. Starting abilities: [Rage], [Battle-ax Proficiency (Novice)], [Medium Armor Proficiency (Novice)], [Warcry]**

**[Knight]: Serene and gracious, you embody the concept of Noblesse Oblige. Knights are heavily armored, mounted and use a range of weapons including swords, lances and bows. Starting abilities: [Equestrianism (Novice)], [Sword Proficiency (Novice)], [Spear Proficiency (Novice)], [Heavy Armor Proficiency (Novice)]**

**[Soldier]: You are a faceless infantrymen, reliable and skilled. The soldiers of this time period are expected to wear medium and heavy armor, utilize swords and spears effectively and handle any conditions that might confront them. Starting abilities: [Sword Proficiency (Novice)], [Spear Proficiency (Novice)], [Medium Armor Proficiency (Novice)], [Heavy Armor Proficiency (Novice)]**

**[Duelist]: You have devoted your time to becoming skilled in one-on-one combat. The Duelist is remarkably capable in taking on any single foe in close quarters combat with their chosen weapon. Starting abilities: [Sword/Ax/Spear Proficiency (Novice)], [Light Armor Proficiency (Novice)], [Quick Reflexes (Novice)], [Battle Instincts]**

**[Brigand]: You are not bothered by petty things like laws in getting all the coin you can. Brigands focus on medium armor, one-handed weapons and bossing around bandits and mercenaries to gang up on rich victims. Starting abilities: [Treasure Sense], [Ax Proficiency (Novice)], [Medium Armor Proficiency (Novice)], [Intimidate]**

**[Sailor]: You've always loved the sea, even if it can be a cruel and petty mistress. Sailors are strong from life at sea, depending on their ability to move a vessel more than their skill with a weapon but they are still capable of hitting things hard. Starting abilities: [Knowledge: Seamanship (Novice)], [Simple Weapons Proficiency (Novice)], [Sailing (Novice)], [Preferred Environment: Ocean]**

**[Monk]: Nothing moves you from your faith. Years of training have honed the monk's physical and spiritual prowess, making their very body a weapon. Starting abilities: [Unarmed Combat Proficiency (Novice)], [Knowledge: Divine Entity (Novice)], [Blessing: Divine (Lesser)], [Aura of Faith]**

Given that I wanted to be able to at least use the Ebony Blade, I could already mark off Berserker, Brigand, Sailor and Monk from my choices. Of the three left, I don't think Knight would actually fit that well. The amount of times where mounted combat would be useful this early in the game were… rather limited.

So, that left Soldier and Duelist. Honestly, while Duelist could be useful in some capacity, I had a feeling that the chosen weapon phrasing meant I would be locked into swords for that class. Sure, swords were cool, but I also had a spear I wanted to try out. Given that, it wasn't difficult to actually choose.

**[Soldier] Specialization chosen.**

**[Sword Proficiency (Novice)]: You have a basic understanding of how to use a sword without stabbing yourself. No maluses on equipped swords.**

**[Spear Proficiency (Novice)]: You can tell the difference between the pointy end of the spear and the grip. No maluses on equipped spears.**

**[Medium Armor Proficiency (Novice)]: You've become used to moving around in medium armor, if only just. No movement speed maluses on equipped medium armor.**

**[Heavy Armor Proficiency (Novice)]: Heavy armor doesn't seem as heavy to you anymore. Lessened movement speed malus on equipped heavy armor.**

It appeared that the Warrior Class gave me +3 Strength and Constitution, while the Soldier Specialization gave me +2 Strength and Constitution every level.

Just to test it out, I pulled Kyouko's Spear from my inventory. I should probably give this thing a name at some point. For now though, I was just happy that I wasn't getting any notifications that I was missing a prerequisite perk. Honestly, even though it was only the second time holding it, the spear felt familiar in my grip. That was probably the perk itself affecting my muscle memory.

Before I began testing it out, I decided it was best to just store it away again. I had other classes to choose from. Better to focus on that.

**Rogue Class Chosen. Specializations set to 'High Fantasy'. Please choose a sub-class.**

**[Thief] [Assassin] [Bandit] [Smuggler] [Scout] [Spy] [Scoundrel]**

**[Thief]: Possession is nine-tenths of the law, but you've never really cared about either of those things. Thieves just love to take shiny things either for profit or for prestige. Starting Abilities: [Lockpick Proficiency (Novice)], [Stealth Proficiency (Novice)], [Treasure Sense], [Dagger Proficiency (Novice)]**

**[Assassin]: You are silence, you are shadow. Assassins monetize death. Starting abilities: [Stealth Proficiency (Novice)], [Dagger Proficiency (Novice)], [Light Armor Proficiency (Novice)], [Backstab]**

**[Bandit]: You fight the law and the law hasn't won yet. Bandits disregard rules and take whatever they wish, with strength of numbers and arms backing their authority. Starting abilities: [Intimidate], [Ax Proficiency (Novice)], [Light Armor Proficiency (Novice)], Treasure Sense**

**[Smuggler]: Every good can be sold, regardless of legality. You happen to be skilled at acquiring and hiding those less than legal wares. Starting Abilities: [Stealth Proficiency (Novice)], [Tracking Proficiency (Novice)], [Appraise], [Bribe]**

**[Scout]: You are quick of foot and quick of mind. The scout can survey the surrounding environment like no other, understanding any situation they find themselves in. Starting Abilities: [Survey], [Stealth Proficiency (Novice)], [Tracking Proficiency (Novice)], [Identify Wildlife]**

**[Spy]: Try as they might, who could possibly pick you from a crowd? The Spy excels at disappearing and disguise. Starting abilities: [Stealth Proficiency (Novice)], [Disguise Proficiency (Novice)], [Persuade], [Investigate]**

**[Scoundrel]: There's never been a trap you couldn't get out of. Scoundrels are masters of evading capture through skill and instinct. Starting Abilities: [Survival Instincts (Novice)], [Detect Trap], [Disable Trap], [Stealth Proficiency (Novice)]**

This one was quite a bit easier to decide on. I had actually given this a bit of thought before I even reached Level 25. Assassin was just too good to pass up on. Sure, it meant I still wouldn't have access to lockpicking, but I could just melt or shatter any lock I came across. Having assassin would allow me to get the full usage of Pickman's Blade – and any other dagger I came across.

**[Assassin] Specialization Chosen.**

**[Stealth Proficiency (Novice)]: As it turns out, moving slowly, wearing lighter clothing and staying out of light makes it more difficult for others to notice you. Increased Sneak chance based on movement speed, type of clothing equipped and luminosity of the area you're in.**

**[Dagger Proficiency (Novice)]: It's better than a knife, if nothing else. All equipped daggers do additional critical damage.**

**[Light Armor Proficiency (Novice)]: Gambeson and mail fits you well. No maluses from equipped light armor.**

**[Backstab]: Whenever you deal a blow to a target without them reacting or being able to react, it deals an automatic critical hit.**

I also received a notification explaining that Rogue would give me +2 Dexterity, Charisma and Luck each level, while Assassin offered +2 Dexterity and Luck each level. Based on what happened with Kyouko's Spear, I didn't think there was a need to see how Pickman's Blade felt in my hands. So, I moved on once again.

**Ranged Class Chosen. Specializations set to 'High Fantasy'. Please choose a sub-class.**

**[Hunter] [Ranger] [Sniper] [Longbowman] [Crossbowman] [Horse Archer] [Archer Knight]**

**[Hunter]: Humans fall for the same tricks as any beast. Hunters may specialize in the tracking and slaying of animals, but an arrow will kill a man just as well. Starting Abilities: [Bow Proficiency (Novice)], [Tracking Proficiency (Novice)], [Stealth Proficiency (Novice)], [Trapmaking Proficiency (Novice)]**

**[Ranger]: The ways of Nature have taught you better than any man could. Rangers boast a very balanced array of skills, but focus on the bow. Starting Abilities: [Bow Proficiency (Novice)], [Favored Enemy], [Favored Terrain], [Identify Beast]**

**[Sniper]: Soldiers and hunters train to make a shot. You train to make a shot every time. [Bow Proficiency (Novice)], [Snipe Shot], [Stealth Proficiency (Novice)], [Eagle Eyes]**

**[Longbowman]: You are a soldier specializing in the use of longbows. Your arrows can reach farther than even your own eyes. Starting Abilities: [Longbow Proficiency (Novice)], [Medium Armor Proficiency (Novice)], [Short-sword Proficiency (Novice)] [Eagle Eyes]**

**[Crossbowman]: The cutting-edge of engineering is all you need. There is no need for useless things like draw strength anymore. Starting Abilities: [Crossbow Proficiency (Novice)], [Medium Armor (Novice)], [Short-sword Proficiency (Novice)], [Eagle Eyes]**

**[Horse Archer]: Horse Archers OP, please nerf. Just like the Mongols, they won't know what to do when you come galloping in. Starting Abilities: [Bow Proficiency (Novice)], [Equestrianism Proficiency (Novice)], [Light Armor Proficiency (Novice)], [Mounted Archery Proficiency (Novice)]**

**[Archer Knight]: You've traded speed for stopping power. A knight and his horse is full plate that can land a shot in any soldier on the field is quite intimidating. Starting Abilities: [Bow Proficiency (Novice)], [Equestrianism Proficiency (Novice)], [Heavy Armor Proficiency (Novice)], [Mounted Archery Proficiency (Novice)]**

The selection here had some of the things I figured would appear. The two different variants of horse archer came as a surprise, but I didn't even need to bother with them. Again, mounted combat wouldn't be too useful in ruins, catacombs, dragon burial sites or the mountains. Honestly, the Ranger Specialization was looking like a really nice choice though.

When I did so, there was a notification that popped up telling me to choose my favored enemy and environment. The latter was easily underground with how often I'd be in dungeons. The other was a toss-up between undead and dragons. In the end, I'd fight undead _way _more than dragons, so I went with that.

**[Ranger] Specialization Chosen.**

**[Bow Proficiency (Novice)]: You've got the hang of actually shooting an arrow, even if it takes some focus. No malus from equipped short and normal bows.**

**[Favored Enemy: Undead]: Your experience in fighting undead has given you the knowledge of their weaknesses. +25% damage vs Undead.**

**[Favored Environment: Underground]: All that time spent in dark caverns seems to have paid off. It's easier to sneak and see in underground environments.**

**[Identify Beast]: If you've encountered it once, you can identify what a beast is, its weaknesses and the danger it poses.**

Another notification to tell me that Ranged grants me an increase of +6 to Dexterity at each level, while Ranger grants +4 to Dexterity. It looked like I'd need to pick up a sturdy bow if I wanted to efficiently grind my Dexterity up. That shouldn't be too difficult, all things considered. I might even have a bow in my inventory. Grinding up things besides magic might be a decent idea, actually.

**Artisan Class chosen. Specializations set to 'High Fantasy'. Please choose your sub-class.**

**[Alchemist] [Artificer] [Blacksmith] [Enchanter] [Engineer] [Runecrafter] [Scribe]**

**[Alchemist]: You're not crazy! All alchemists eat potentially lethal plants to figure out what they'd do in a potion. Starting Abilities: [Consume Ingredient (Novice)], [Synthesize Potion (Novice)], [Synthesize Poison (Novice)], [Identify Flora]**

**[Artificer]: It's magic, it's science, it's Magi-Science! Doesn't matter where or when you are, your creations scare everyone. Starting Abilities: [Infuse Magic] [Detect Magic] [Deduce Magic] [Investigate Technology]**

**[Blacksmith]: A hammer and anvil is all you need. If it's strong and simple, it can be forged. Starting Abilities: [Smelting Proficiency (Novice)] [Smithing Proficiency (Novice)] [Identify Metal] [Identify Ore]**

**[Enchanter]: Magic can solve all problems. You know how to both infuse and power magical effects into objects. [Identify Effect] [Disenchant Object] [Infuse Effect] [Enchant Object]**

**[Engineer]: You've always liked machines more than people. With nothing but gears and ingenuity, you can do great things. Starting Abilities: [Identify Machinery] [Investigate Machinery] [Design Machinery] [Knowledge: Basic Engineering]**

**[Runecrafter]: Runes are useful for more than just traps and enchanting. While others simply use what they've read, you understand how to make new ones. Starting Abilities: [Read Rune] [Write Rune] [Infuse Magic] [Knowledge: Basic Runes]**

**[Scribe]: It may not be flashy, but people can read what you write. Scribes put knowledge to paper. Starting Abilities: [Copy Text] [Create Magic Tome] [Create Magic Scroll] [Transcribe Knowledge]**

Well, this was certainly much different than what I'd been expecting. Blacksmith, Enchanter and Alchemist I definitely figured would show up. Everything else was surprising. Despite that, I was still quite sure of what I wanted. Alchemy would be the most useful both in the short and long-term, so that's what I decided on.

**[Alchemist] Specialization Chosen.**

**[Consume Ingredient (Novice)]: There's no better way to see what an ingredient does than to stick it in your mouth. Identifies one random effect of whatever ingredient you eat.**

**[Synthesize Potion]: This skill is used to create potions from various ingredients.**

**[Synthesize Poison]: This skill is used to create poisons from various ingredients.**

**[Identify Flora]: If you've encountered it once, you can identify what a plant is, its qualities and the usefulness it has.**

Just as had been the case the last few times, I was notified of the stat changes leveling up would bring. Artisan was +3 Dexterity and Charisma while Alchemist was +2 Intelligence and Wisdom. Seems like it would be even more useful than I thought. I thought that I'd be done, but the Voice piped in just then.

**Now that your class slots have been filled, it's time to explain another mechanic! **The Voice was far too enthused about this. **It's a very quick one, don't worry. Now that you have five classes that you're training up at once, it's time to choose a primary class. Your primary class will receive a 25% bonus to XP for the class itself, and an addition 25% bonus to XP from actions relating to the currently equipped sub-class.**

**For instance, if you were to choose mage. All magic skills would gain 25% extra XP, while Elemental magic would give you an additional 25% beyond that. Given you've only had the one class slot filled, it defaulted to Mage, but now you get the ability to choose. Your primary class can also be changed once a day, just so you know.**

Well, that was at least something super useful to know. Well, I don't think I'll need to do anything with magic for the foreseeable future. I do need to get a bit of training done for my other classes while I'm here. Well, I'd rather not get too close to the zombies just yet, so setting Ranged to my Primary Class seems like the best bet. I'll train my archery up tonight after I get back.

With that done, I just need to do one more thing before I head to Dragonsreach. Though, there has been something bothering me just a bit. Voice, got a question on the gacha system. Is there a bonus if I spend more gacha tokens at once? I know most gacha games have a bonus on 10-pulls. Anything like that?

**You are absolutely correct! Using ten tokens of the same rarity will guarantee that one of them pulls something of a rarity at least one tier up!**

Best to save what I've got then. It's not like these tokens were particularly rare, so there was little to no reason to worry about how long it would take. Some of the rarer tokens might be difficult to pick up, but I could easily farm common and uncommon tokens inside the undead Instant Dungeon, especially now that I had undead as a favored enemy and all those perks from Arkay.

So, it looked like it was time to go steal a demon sword from the Jarl.

**[Dragonsreach Basement]**

It was easy enough to make my way through the city up to the castle. I walked at a leisurely pace and took in the sights of an empty Whiterun, devoid of people or sound. Walking through the Wind District was odd, given I expected Heimskr's preaching to somehow cross the dimensional barrier.

The castle was also no issue. I just opened the door and waltzed inside. Making my way through the deserted stronghold, I found the stairs that led to my prize. The door that kept it inside was locked. I expected as much. However, the lock meant nothing to me as I placed my hands on the wood and cast Cold Touch. Soon enough, it was frozen solid. Bashing my shield into the door, it shattered into frozen splinters at the floor.

After stepping through the threshold, I close the Dungeon. The door re-appears and the very sword I was after pops into existence within the room.

**[Gamer's Mind] has nullified Mephala's [Demonic Pressure].**

"**My, my. Who is this? You have the aura of Arkay and Akatosh about you, Imperial. How did you enter this prison?" **I can hear Mephala's voice, even if she's not here. I know it's through the Ebony Blade.

"I am called Orpheus Kidwell." I introduce myself. "I learned of the Jarl's hiding of the Ebony Blade under Dragonsreach and felt that it might find a better home elsewhere."

"**Is that so? I've been waiting for someone more fit to carry out my will. The child is spirited, but he lacks agency. Unfortunately, the Ebony Blade of legend is not what you see before you. Much of its power has been lost. The years spent outside of alliance and betrayal have dulled its edge and all but erased its power."**

"How would I go about fixing it then?" I ask as I reach out for the Blade. Taking the handle, I realize quickly that I'll need two hands to properly swing it. Maybe if I increase my Strength I can fix that.

"**It only needs to bathe in what originally made it legendary. Betrayal will empower the Blade. After you empower it, it will feast on the life-force of those it cuts down. That life-force can empower you as well."**

I'm really hoping that this doesn't anger Arkay. I don't think it will, considering it's not actually necromancy. I'm not eating their soul, just their health. It should be fine, right? "I understand. I think that I can do that. I just need to kill people that trust me, right? How close do we need to be?"

"**I do not believe you must strike down your best friend. The stronger the betrayal you commit, however, the faster it will regain its full power. Take that into account as you labor." **She replied. If that was the case, I was formulating a plan based on that information. I'm not sure how long it would take, but I could likely become Mephala's Champion very quickly.

"I will keep that in mind. It may take some time, but I believe that I can do as you ask of me." With that, I store the Ebony Blade in my inventory and pop back into my empty Instant Dungeon. Now to spend the rest of the night grinding my archery back in the Plains District.

**[The Next Morning]**

Every time I think I properly understand how the system works, I am only proven that I, in fact, know nothing. I had thought that it would be an easy time using a bow to dispatch zombie after zombie in my Undead Instant Dungeon, specifically using the first four waves. Back in Riverwood, I'd just defaulted to Wave 5 because I wanted to get the hang of using spells in high stress environments. I wanted to test myself.

As it turns out, I'm not actually able to go back to the first four waves. The System explained to me that the only repeatable waves are mini-boss and boss waves. That meant that Wave 5 was the only wave I could actually attempt right now, unless I wanted to push forward into the unknown. On top of that, I'd already changed my primary Specialization to Ranger. If I tried grinding anything else, it would mean wasting those experience multipliers.

The min-maxer in me just wouldn't allow me to do that. It would be an extremely inefficient thing to do. Therefore, I had to get creative. As it turned out, Raise Stone Wall had some… interesting uses. One of those uses was to create a small tower with a couple of archer slits. It took me a lot longer than I would've liked, but I _did _end up getting through Wave 5 with nothing but archery.

My shots were very inaccurate at first, but having stolen the entire storeroom and armory of a Legion regiment and a bandit camp, not to mention what I'd scavenged in the Hall of the Dead, I had far more arrows than I actually knew what to do with. After that, things started to move along quite a bit more smoothly.

In the end though, I could only manage to clear Wave 5 twice with my strategy. It did net me a couple of goodies, however. Of course there was the gold, a couple of Uncommon tokens and 10 skill points. More importantly though, In one night, Ranger went up to Level 9. My Dexterity also hit 100.

**Ranger Level 5 Rewards Obtained.**

**[Animal Friend]: Your connection with nature allows you to calm beasts. Success chance is based on various factors.**

**[Foraging Proficiency (Novice)]: A life in the wilderness has taught you the importance of not starving. You know how to make simple meals from the ingredients of your environment.**

**[Tracking Proficiency (Novice)]: Trails that are easy to make are easy to follow. You know the basics of tracking beasts and men.**

**[Survey]: Sometimes it's the little things that count. You can spot minute details in the area that don't quite fit.**

**100 Dexterity Reward Obtained.**

**[Ambidextrous]: There is now no difference between your main and off-hand. [Dual-Wielding] unlocked.**

The perk and skills were nice additions to my repertoire. Nothing truly mind-blowing of course, but definitely nice to have. I'm not sure when ambidexterity would come in handy, but there surely had to be a time that it would be useful. Honestly though, the lack of any ranged abilities for my Level 5 Rewards was the most surprising bit. Then again, Rangers are basically just hobos with bows, so there's plenty of other stuff they've got. Who knows? Maybe I'll get some magic later.

After the second wave, I decided to head back to the Bannered Mare and get some rest. There weren't many things left for me to take care of, but I may as well be in good shape whenever I did them.

A quick breakfast with my party ended with the three civilians accompanying me to Andurs, while Victoria left to buy her things. In truth, I likely could've left them to their own devices but I wanted to grind up Andurs' Reputation higher. There was technically one other quest involving him, but I couldn't be sure how much Reputation that would net me. That left only one true course of action for me to take.

It was around 8 in the morning when we arrived. I figured that Andurs should be awake by then. He wasn't actually anywhere to be seen in the main hall, but he probably wasn't too far away. The trio I'd brought with me were a bit nervous, but I assured them that I'd locate him.

For a moment, I thought about how to actually get a sense of things. I decided it might be a good opportunity to try out one of my new skills. Activating Survey, I was surprised to see that my entire vision changed. Instead of looking at the Hall of the Dead's stone walls and floor, everything had a strange, blue tinge to it. It was kind of like the Detective Mode from those Batman Arkham games.

Of course, I lacked all of Batman's gadgets, gizmos and gear, so I couldn't actually see things like heat signatures, footprints or chemical trails. It wasn't too big of a deal though. My eyes darted back and forth until I noted a break in the blue coloration, a sliver of bright, white light. Ending Survey Mode, I noted that the sliver was actually a crack in an open door.

Making my way towards it, I knocked. "Hey, Andurs, are you in here?"

After a moment, the door fully opened to reveal the Priest of Arkay. Looking behind him, I noted that the room he occupied was some sort of study. There were shelves of books lining the walls. "Ah, Mr. Kidwell. What can I do for you? I didn't expect to see you so soon again."

"Well, I promised to help you find some hands, right?" I replied easily. Stepping back from the door, I allowed him to make his way into the main chamber. Leading him to where I left the others, I smiled. "You three, this is Andurs. He'll be in charge of your employment for the foreseeable future. Make sure to do as he says."

The older man gave the three a once over.. "Yes, yes. I think that all of you should be able to do what I need. As the young Mr. Kidwell explained, I am Andurs, the Head Priest of Arkay for Whiterun Hold." Glancing between the three, he nodded. "Who might you be?"

"I am Mirod." One of the Nord men introduced himself. "This is Angvid." He gestured to the other Nord. "And she is Isarie." Andurs nodded once more to acknowledge Mirod. "We cannot do enough to express our gratitude to both you and Orpheus. It may take some time for us to get the hang of what you need, but I can assure you that we will work hard."

**+11 Reputation with Andurs (71/100) for finding such seemingly good people to help.**

"Well, I'll be more than happy to have you along." Andurs responded with a smile. "Did you need anything before I put them to work, Mr. Kidwell?" It seemed like the Priest was very eager to get to work now that he had motivated helpers.

"I just wanted to make sure they got here and met you properly." I replied. "I'm not sure if there was anything else in particular that I required of you. Did you need something from me?" Andurs seemed like he was going to say something before pausing. "Andurs?"

"There is actually one thing. Could you come with me?" When the other three seemed like they were going to follow, he gave them a glance. "Actually, if I could have a moment with just Mr. Kidwell, I would be grateful."

I was definitely curious what he might need me for. Even more so now that he'd told the others to stay back. He led me to the side of the chamber opposite his study. When we passed through a door, I had to assume it was his personal quarters. There was a bed, a couple of bookshelves, a cabinet and dresser, but not much else. "What, exactly, did you need Andurs?"

"It has been bothering me for a bit, but I did not think it worth mentioning. However, I feel I must ask. Did anything strange happen yesterday? I seem to have… fuzzy memories of a conversation with you that I certainly don't recall." Oh, it was about that.

"You could say that something strange certainly did happen yesterday." I replied after a moment. After thinking about how exactly to explain it, I decided to just state the details. "After I returned from the crypt, you were possessed by something claiming to be Arkay. I am of the opinion that it was actually him, as well. He wanted to have a conversation with me, it seems."

Andurs' eyes widened more and more as I continued speaking. His hand moved to the Amulet around his neck, gripping it tightly. "By Arkay… is that really what happened? You would not fill an old man with idle hope unduly, would you? No… of course you wouldn't. I had thought that my usefulness for Arkay may have been reaching its end, but I see that is not the case."

"I apologize for not telling you about it sooner." I state with a slight bow of my head. "I probably should have told you when you regained control of your faculties. Are you alright?" The last part I wonder given he was just staring into space and seemed to be a million miles away.

**+21 Reputation with Andurs (92/100) for giving him hope that Arkay might still find use of him yet.**

"I am… I am more than alright, Mr. Kidwell. Please, tell me. What did Arkay have to say to you, if I may ask? If you have been sworn to secrecy, I will understand though. The Will of mighty Arkay is far and away above the desires of an old fool like myself."

"No, no. It's nothing like that." I reply quickly. "He wanted to thank me for helping one of his devoted servants without hesitation. He was also grateful for my clearing of the crypt's undead. He gave me a… gift, I think? It's something that allows me to feel where undead are. He also told me if I might continue to embody his will, then I could become his Champion, of sorts. I think that's the word."

**+100 Reputation with Andurs (100/100) for being Blessed by Arkay.  
Perk [Aura of Arkay] acquired.**

**[Aura of Arkay]: There is an aura of Arkay about you. All healing magic is 50% more effective and all physical attacks are infused with his power, dealing 50% more damage to Undead and Necromancers.**

Andurs seemed to be focusing momentarily before smiling. "Yes, yes. I think you may be right. I thought there was something about you. I can definitely feel the hand of Arkay on your body, on your very soul. You truly have been Blessed by Arkay. What sort of task did he ask of you? You mentioned continuing to embody his will."

"I think, just cleansing Skyrim from the undead menace." I explained. This would actually be a really good time to make Andurs aware of some things he might not know. Perhaps he could arrange something with the other Priests of Arkay to help take out the undead. They really were just a scourge upon the land.

Wait… what? Where did that thought come from? Just thinking about undead ravaging the countryside filled me with some sort of… visceral hatred. It was the most extreme emotion I've felt since dying. Wasn't Gamer's Mind supposed to halt things like that?

**Surprise! Gamer's Mind is important for more than just keeping you calm! Your actions and choices can do many things! Class selection, perk creation and titles are all important subsystems of Gamer's Mind, you see. You've stacked a bunch of anti-undead perks so far, and so Gamer's Mind is attempting to mold your psychology to properly take advantage of them.**

Are you telling me that you're changing my thoughts? Hello? Hello? No answer. That's the first time that the Voice has ever not actually responded to one of my questions. This could be… troublesome.

**And that's it!**

**Make sure to let me know your thoughts in the review section, via PM or on the Discord over at (slash) PWDD44v**

**Also, I've got a Pat reon now: pat (slash) orpheuskidwell**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	10. Chapter X: Back to Riverwood

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter X: Back to Riverwood**

Ever since that day in the Hall of the Dead, the Voice had remained silent. Granted, I hadn't really encountered any new systems or sub-systems, and the only question on my mind had been the question about my mind. I wasn't really any closer to figuring out any answers, though. In the end, I'd decided that I only had so much time before we left for the Barrow and pondering would be best left for after I became the Thane of Whiterun.

Over the next five days, my time was divvied up the best way I knew how. I spent my days grinding up affection with Farengar and Arcadia. Despite thinking about it as grinding, it wasn't actually difficult. I was genuinely curious about a lot of magical things in Skyrim, and Farengar was more than happy to explain them.

I started talking with Arcadia after doing that quest to deliver her some Frost Salts from Farengar. Between that and my various modifiers that increased relationship with her, maxing her out hadn't been too difficult. I mostly wanted her to teach me things about Alchemy, and thanks to her I did get to push my level up to 12 before leaving Whiterun.

**[Hermetic Order] obtained from reaching 50 Reputation with Arcadia.**

**[Trade Secret: Alchemy] obtained from reaching 100 Reputation with Arcadia**

**[A Linked Coven] from reaching 50 Reputation with Farengar Secret-Fire.**

**[The Fruits of Study] from reaching 100 Reputation with Farengar Secret-Fire.**

**[Hermetic Order]: Reputation increases faster with alchemists.**

**[Trade Secret: Alchemy]: There is a chance – scaled to levels relating to alchemy – that you will harvest double ingredients from any given source.**

**[A Linked Coven]: Reputation increases faster with ****the**** College of Winterhold ****faction****.**

**[****The Fruits of Study]: Increase XP gains by 10%.**

In terms of further leveling, I found it to be far more efficient to approach Wave 5 with magic and pepper in skills from my other classes along the way when the opportunity presented itself. My other classes made progress more slowly, but I was able to do far more than even when I did it as a pure Elementalist. By the final night before our departure, I managed to push through 7 instances of Wave 5.

This new method had resulted in me pushing my Soldier and Ranger classes up to level 15 while Assassin hit 14. Even Elementalist managed to get to 27. Thanks to leveling, I also got the 200 Dexterity and 100 Charisma bonuses. All in all, I'd say that my nights were extremely well-spent. And that was without even taking into consideration the rewards grinding gave me.

**Level 5 Alchemist Skills Acquired.**

**[****Recipe: ****Small HP**** Potion****]: ****The most basic of healing potions. Ingredients: Any two or more ingredients with the [Restore HP] effect.**

**[Recipe: Frostbite Poison]: A basic poison derived from Frostbite Spiders. Ingredients: Frostbite Venom and any 1 ingredient with the [Damage HP] effect.**

**[****Dilute Potion****]: ****By mixing a potion with a non-reactive substance, you can increase the amount of it. This lessens the effect of each resulting potion.**

**[****Dilute Poison****]: ****By mixing a poison with a non-reactive substance, you can increase the amount of it. This lessens the effect of each resulting poison.**

**Level 5 Assassin Skills Acquired.**

**[Light Step]: Your movements are quieter, making it easier to go undetected when sneaking.**

**[Breath Control]: You have gained the ability to control your breathing, allowing you to go longer without the need to inhale or exhale.**

**[Controlled Movements]: You can stay still where others might fidget, spasm or shake.**

**[****Heart-Stopper****]: ****With focus, you can stop or restart your heartbeat.**

**Level 5 Soldier Skills Acquired.**

**[Light Shield Proficiency (Novice)]: It's better than blocking a sword with your arm. Shields made from light materials offer extra protection.**

**[Heavy Shield Proficiency (Novice)]: Now that you've gotten used to it, doesn't seem so heavy. Shields made from heavy materials are easier to wield.**

**[Shield Bash]: A heavy enough shield is just as effective as a club. Bashing a target with your shield will stun them and inflict bludgeoning damage.**

**[Rally]: With a cry, your allies rise up to your banner. Instill [Valor] into any nearby allies.**

**Level 10 Alchemist Skills Acquired.**

**[Recipe: Night Vision Potion]: A low-level potion that grants the ability to see in low-light conditions for a short period of time. Ingredients: Any two or more materials with the effect [Night Vision].**

**[Recipe: Paralysis Poison]: A low-level poison that inflicts [Paralyze]. Ingredients: Any two or more ingredients with the effect [Paralyze].**

**[Identify Unknown Potion]: With experience, comes ability. You can identify any potion you've already brewed before.**

**[Identify Unknown Poison]: With experience, comes ability. You can identify any poison you've already brewed before.**

**Level 10 Assassin Skills Acquired.**

**[Attuned Senses]: Your senses are not stronger, but more sensitive. Subtle changes in what you see and hear are immediately noticed.**

**[Identify Trap]: For one so used to death, it is easy to spot the tell-tale signs of a trap. A piece of elevated flooring, a nearly invisible tripwire or an aged rune etched into stone are clear and obvious to you.**

**[Disable Trap]: Just as you know how to spot traps, you also know how to render them unusable.**

**[****Set Trap****]: ****With the right materials, you can have your victims walk to their own demise without ever needing to raise your dagger.**

**Level 10 Ranger Skills Acquired.**

**[****Medical Instincts****]: ****The bounty of nature can heal just as well as it harms. Years of survival in harsh environments have allowed you to diagnose certain ailments with a glance.**

**[Patchwork Medic]: Who needs a practitioner's license? With basic equipment, you can mend minor injuries and mitigate more severe ones on anything with a similar biology to your own.**

**[Intimidate ****Creature****]: Your aura has become that of a predator over time. With a little focus, you can scare away many different types of animals with a look. **

**[Snipe]: Bow in hand, eyes on the target. If you take your time to aim, your shot will never fail. Increases Accuracy with ranged weaponry the longer you take aim at a target.**

**Level 10 Soldier Skills Acquired.**

**[Power-Strike]: Increase the critical hit chance with any one-handed weapon by using it with both hands.**

**[Flurry]: Increase your attack speed at the cost of critical chance, just make sure you can actually hit your target.**

**[Lunge]: Spear in hand, aim for the heart. This technique increases armor penetration by 50%.**

**[Warcry]: With a guttural yell, your enemy's blood turns to ice. This has a chance to inflict [Paralyze] on all enemies in range for three seconds.**

**Level 15 Ranger Skills Acquired.**

**[Tame Beast]: Your ties with nature have placed you among the animals themselves. You may tame any beast whose will is weaker than yours. The number of beasts you may have at your call are equal to one-tenth your Charisma.**

**[Healing]: The most basic of Restoration spells. Convert mana to health, but if your focus is interrupted then it stops. 10 MP/sec**

**[Double Shot]: Take aim and fire. You may fire two arrows at once, in exchange for an accuracy malus.**

**[Hunter-Gatherer]: You know exactly how to use what you obtain. Unlocks recipes for various flora and fauna based crafting.**

**Level 15 Soldier Skills Acquired.**

**[Ax Proficiency (Novice)]**

**[****Forward March****]: ****While this is active, all allies receive a DEX and CON buff, but are inflicted with the [Fatigue] status. [Fatigue] will remain for six hours after the skill is turned off.**

**[United We Stand]: Whenever your party is outnumbered, all allies are instilled with [Valor] until the battle ends.**

**[Last Stand]: A skill that may only be used when under 50% HP. All allies are instilled with [Valor] while you are given the [Adrenaline] status until the fight ends. At the end of the fight, you are inflicted with [Fatigue].**

**Level 200 Dexterity Bonus Obtained.**

**[Bullet Time]: Your reaction speeds gain a marked increase, allowing you to react to arrows flying in the air in real-time.**

**Level 100 Charisma Bonus Obtained.**

**[Silver-Tongue]: All Charisma checks have their difficulty halved.**

Besides the leveling, I also ended up amassing a large number of skill points and uncommon gacha tokens. I decided on saving both of them. The skill points would be better left in the bank, in case I needed to increase a particular skill quickly. In terms of the gacha, I wanted to see what I could gather at Bleak Falls Barrow first. I'd rather do them all at once, after all.

Before we could truly leave though, we had to gather all of our supplies. Victoria stated that the armor was extremely well-made, and that her new sword felt easy to swing. Based on her appraisal, I had no issues dropping ten thousand Septims onto Adrianne's counter. It wasn't actually that much for everything – only around eight thousand – but it was good to overpay Adrianne so I might get special treatment from her later, if I needed more orders.

We also dropped by Farengar. All the items I wanted were as good as I hoped, with me explaining the necklace, rings and earrings to Victoria after giving them to her. I was not taking any chances with heights or drowning. Luckily, Victoria wasn't a Nord and, as such, I didn't expect her to have any qualms with enchanted items.

Then Farengar explained to me the enchantment he'd placed on my shield. Essentially, it could absorb magicka and then use that to fuel an auto-cast Ward. It was meant for me to funnel my own Magicka into it, but he mentioned that I might be able to absorb the magicka from enemy spells, if I did things just right.

On the way back from Dragonsreach, we made a quick stop at the Hall of the Dead to off-load another six corpses. Then it was time to head to the Whiterun Stables. Earlier that week, I'd purchased two of their horses, and it was time to take them. It would only take a day's ride to get to Riverwood, after all. The Voice might be silent, but that didn't mean that my adventures were going to stop.

**[][][]**

As one might expect, the way back to Riverwood was just as exciting as the trip to Whiterun. That is to say, it was completely without incident. There were only two of us this time, but Victoria was quite imposing. Well, either that or the road between some backwater village and the economic center of Skyrim was really that barren of bandits.

By the time we arrived in Riverwood, mid-morning had turned to evening. The two of us came to the decision that we'd stay in the Sleeping Giant Inn for the night before heading off to the Barrow. I had Victoria take our trusty steeds to the nearby stable that this version of the Sleeping Giant had while I went inside to pay for our rooms.

"Good evening, and welcome to the Sleeping Giant Inn." Delphine greeted me. After a moment, her eyes narrowed. "You seem a tad familiar. Have I seen you around these parts before?" With a smile, I nod.

"Yes, I was here not a week ago with the large party of Imperials and civilians. Our ways have parted since then, for the most part, but my travels have once more sent me to your inn. I'd like two rooms for the night, if they're open." Delphine nodded and led me to Orgnar's little bar. He wasn't anywhere to be found just then, but I'm sure he would be along shortly.

"Two rooms? So, your party hasn't completely parted ways then?" Clearly, Delphine saw that something was up. Well, it didn't matter too much, since she'd find out about my adventures in the Barrow later.

"That's right. The Imperials went back to Solitude, the civilians stayed in Whiterun, and my bodyguard is tagging along with me." I explain as I open my inventory. "Could I also bother you to take care of my horses for a week or so? The two of us are making an expedition into Bleak Falls Barrow for the Jarl, and I'd rather they weren't killed by whatever we might find."

Delphine's eyes lit up for a moment. "Of course, of course. Would you like anything else? Orgnar should be finished making tonight's stew in a few minutes for our guests. It's only a couple Septims extra for each of you to get a bowl."

"That sounds good." I reply as I remove 50 Septims from my inventory before she can give me a price. The look in her eyes tells me it's more than enough. Honestly, with how much gold I can make off of my nightly grinds, I don't think it'll ever be an issue to overpay innkeepers and merchants. Well, I say that now, but there's no telling how much I'll have to spend to buy the ruins of Helgen and then rebuild it.

I take the keys from Delphine just as Victoria arrives. "Do you have some bad blood with that Nord?" She asks, tilting her head towards the back of the inn. With a glance, I can see Sven glaring at me. "I can take care of him, if you'd like."

"That won't be necessary, Victoria. Thank you for the offer though. Here's your key. The cook will be bringing some stew in a bit." She nodded and headed off to her room. With a smile, I approached Sven. Before anything though, I pushed about half of my skill point stockpile into Charisma.

**Level 200 Charisma Bonus Obtained.**

**[Numbers Advantage]: Party and summoning slots are permanently doubled.**

"What are you doing here?" Sven's anger was palpable. In fact, my approaching him dropped my reputation with him down to -20. Time to see just how much my Charisma could manage.

"My travels have once more brought me to Riverwood is all. What's wrong? You seem to be on edge, friend." Sven spat at my feet.

"You are no friend of mine. I should gut you for what you did." I couldn't help but step back a bit, placing my hand over my chest.

"What are you talking about? What did I do?" The look of genuine shock on my face seemed to have some effect on him, as I could see clear hesitation in his eyes.

"You… Camilla… Camilla is with the elf! She told me to never speak to her again after the nasty letter that I wrote!" I looked at the ground for a moment, trying to gather myself, before looking him in the eyes.

"I do apologize, Sven. I did not mean to ruin things with you. I handed her the letter on my way out of the village. I should have remained longer to cover your tracks. You are right in placing the blame on me for cutting corners, and I can only offer you a sincere apology to make up for it."

What I said must've been believable, because Sven turned away. I got several notifications that his Reputation had increased all the way up to 50 again. "I may have been rash in my assessment of you. I'm sorry." Nope, your assessment of me was basically spot on. You're just too easy to read.

My Gods, I really am turning into a sociopath. Still, it's better for me to have no enemies. "Look, Sven. Why don't I make it up to you? I have to leave for a few days, but I'm sure that I can help you get Camilla back when I return.

"I've got to head into the Barrow on the Jarl's orders to collect something for his mage. I'll be back here for one night though. On that night, I'll make everything right." Sven turned back to look at me and sighed, nodding his head.

"Thank you, Orpheus. I'm sorry for ever doubting you."

**[][][]**

The next morning began early for Victoria and I. We didn't leave quite at the crack of dawn, but it was near enough that no one else in Riverwood seemed to be awake. If they were, they weren't out and about in the village, anyways.

Given everything that could and would happen today, I spent the entire night asleep for once. While I only actually needed half an hour of rest to get up to full HP, I felt it was better to be safe and get as much rest as I could in preparation for the Barrow.

Since our horses wouldn't be much help inside the dungeon itself, we left them at the Sleeping Giant. That meant we had to make the long hike up to the Barrow on foot. Truthfully, it wasn't actually that bad. Victoria seemed to be used to long marches in her heavy armor, and I only had my robes. Thanks to some cold resistance potions, even the mountain's subzero temperatures weren't bothering us either.

It didn't take too long before we reached a familiar scene. Motioning for Victoria to crouch down behind one of the many boulders before us, I gestured towards the stone tower in the distance. It took her a moment, but she seemed to notice the bandits guarding it.

"Good eye." Victoria complimented as she tried locating all she could. "I count five out here in the snow. There's probably more inside the tower, as well. What would you like to do?" Well, what was there to do? I didn't have enough people to try anything clever. It was just the two of us, and they had the numbers advantage. The terrain was also mostly open from here to there, so we couldn't just rush them or sneak around.

"If we try to draw them to us, they might send a scout to inform any others of our arrival." I finally mentioned. "We have to attack, we have to press our attack and we have to leave no survivors. There's quite a bit of ground between us and them, and it's lacking coverage. If there's any archers in that tower, it probably won't end well."

Victoria pursed her lips and nodded. "You're right, but there isn't any other way." After a moment more of looking at the path before us, she turned to me. "I'm not overly familiar with magic, but do you have any spells that could give us another ally?" Even as she said it, I was reminded that I did, in fact, have two. Shiva probably wasn't the best one to bring out just now, but my Atronach would do nicely.

"Actually, I do." Bringing my staff out from my inventory, I grinned. "This is what I stole from that bandit back at Embershard. It can be used to summon that fire elemental, the Flame Atronach, which I used to kill them." She nodded once as we stood back up.

Pointing the staff at the group of men outside the tower, I channeled my mana into it. In a swirl of flames, the Atronach appeared. The snow around it immediately melted, and the clothing the bandits wore spontaneously combusted. Victoria immediately ran forward and I wasn't far behind.

My Atronach – I really needed a name for it – incinerated the entire group of five with a wave of its hand, turning them all to ash. Faintly, I could see… _something _pass from the bandits into it. _Is that their souls?_

There was no time for thinking about anything as existential as that though. Their screams and the smell of burning flesh garnered attention from the tower to us. Several arrows came from the middle section of the tower, only to hit a stone wall I raised in defense. My increase in dexterity seems to have already started paying off.

"You don't happen to have any spells that could just take the tower down, do you?" Victoria wondered. When I shook my head, she sighed. "Well, it was worth a shot, anyways." Glancing at the Atronach floating near us, she turned back to me. "Would an arrow affect this thing? Could we have it clear out the tower for us?"

**"Those are nothing more than sticks just sharp enough to bring down a meal. Of course I wouldn't be destroyed by something so mundane. Even if I was, I'd just go back to Oblivion and reassemble myself anyways." **I hadn't heard that voice in a while, and based on Victoria's lack of reaction she hadn't heard it at all. **"Of course she didn't. Our connection is through the staff, and so only its master might hear me."**

That's good to know. "Mundane weapons can't actually kill it, not permanently anyways." I placed a hand on the wall, readying myself. "I'm going to take this down, and we follow in after it. Strange as it is, inside the tower will be the safest place for us. They can't shoot us through the floor, after all."

A few moments later and we were inside. The Atronach headed up the stairs, the stone glowing a dull orange wherever it passed. "You know, every battle we go through makes me more confused." My eyes must have conveyed the question in my mind. "You are as capable a Mage as any I've seen in Cyrodiil serving in the courts. You seem to fit in with the gentry as well as any blue-blood I've met. The number of places your coin can't get us, your tongue makes up for. What possibly kept you from breaking your bindings before you got to Helgen and escaping?"

That was a question I truly had no answer to. Up until the cart ride, I did not control the body of whoever this was. Everything I've done in these last few weeks is potentially the antithesis of whoever the Dragonborn was before this. "I felt as if I was exactly where the Divines wanted me to be." I respond cryptically.

Victoria seemed to be taken aback for a moment, but nodded. Perhaps Mages were just generally like that. Perhaps she decided that it wasn't worth prying. Perhaps she was religious enough to think I was telling the truth. Still, it was a hole in my backstory I needed to patch.

Actually, my entire backstory was an enormous void. I could say a line here or there and let people think what they might, but I, ultimately, had no idea who or what I was prior to becoming Orpheus Kidwell. What if someone from my past recognized me? It might not be a worthless endeavor to get some magical cosmetic surgery, just in case.

A thought suddenly struck me. "We might have actually wanted to capture one of these men so that we could get some intel on any other bandits, huh?" Victoria nodded. _You didn't kill everyone already, did you?_

**There are still two other souls in this Tower, aside from you, your companion and myself. Do you wish for me to spare them?**

_I need to question one of them, so yes. We'll take it from here. Hopefully you had a good… meal._

**I shall await your next summons.**

"My Atronach left two of them alive and is gone now. We might want to give the Tower some time to cool off, but they should be more than enough to get what we need."

"They may try to jump or climb down, if there are others. Time may be of the essence. If nothing else, should they jump then we go in blind." I nod, trying to think. I could use something to rapidly cool the stone, but that might cause an explosion from the rapid changes in temperature. With a sigh, I pull out a Heat Resistance Potion.

"This won't keep out equipment from suffering ill-effects of the heat, but it'll keep us from being injured, at least." I point out while drinking some of it, then handing the bottle to Victoria. She downs the other half of it and takes the lead, her shield raised, just in case.

We ascended up two floors, passing by many piles of ash, before we heard voices. It sounded like a man and a woman. I couldn't really make out the words yet, but they both sounded distressed and confused. Victoria glanced back at me, showing that she heard them as well.

I gestured to her in hopes of getting her to stop. When she did, I began to whisper. "Wait here. I can capture both of them with a spell. The enchantments on my shoes keep them from making any noise when I walk, so it'll be easier if I take the lead here." For a moment, Victoria seemed like she would argue, but she simply nodded.

Creeping up the spiral staircase to the top floor, I peeked up to see the bandits. It was a man and a woman, just like I thought. The woman was Khajiit, and the man was a Nord. They both were wearing heavy furs to keep the cold from getting to them. The Nord had an ax in hand and was seemingly trying to convince the woman – who seemed unarmed – to do something.

_Unarmed? That doesn't seem right. She's probably some sort of mage. I'm definitely killing her and capturing the Nord. _With that in mind, I thought over my spells for a moment. She was pretty close to the nearby wall. With a devilish grin, I cast Stone Spears and watched as three spikes protruded from the nearby stone, then shot out and impaled her into the _opposite _wall. She flew by fast enough that the air pressure knocked my hood off my head.

The Nord was a bit slow to react, but realized what had happened. He looked in my direction, then glanced to his right. I knew what he had to have been thinking. He was looking right at the hole in the tower. It was where the scaffolding that you could use to reach the rooftop chest was located. As he took his first step towards it, I lashed out with a water whip and bound his arms to his sides.

Pulling him towards me, I watched as he fell to the floor. In the process, his head had hit stone. Luckily, he hadn't lost consciousness though. "Okay, Victoria. I got him." At my command, I could hear her walking up the steps. She looked first at the Khajiit who dangled in the wall, her feet not quite touching the pool of blood gathering on the floor. Then her eyes turned to the Nord.

In all the time I'd seen her, I don't think I'd witnessed that particular combination of anger and joy in my hireling. True, I'd only know her for a couple weeks, but she always seemed the cold, distant type. _Perhaps seeing a Nord bandit reminds her of the Stormcloaks… or her rapists. You know, it's probably the latter. _I shook the thoughts from my head as she arrived at my side.

"It seems you are as ruthless as ever, Orpheus." She noted. The bandit seemed to focus his vision just then, looking up at us. "Do you have any spells to force information out of him?" She wondered.

With a glance down at him, I sighed. "The School of Illusion is not one of my areas of study, no. I suppose I could sever his appendages with wind, or force him to watch as I froze each finger and shattered it. I could also create walls that press into his body, even adding spikes to them so that he is in agony while I do so. I have a water spell that traps people inside, slowly drowning them. The little Restoration Magic I know should be enough to help him recover from anything we might do, so that we might do it again."

Of course, I really didn't have any intention on torturing the man. Torture, from my understanding, was a long and drawn out process. It would be time wasted when I could be doing something more useful, like killing bandits and cremating Draugr. It just seemed like… too much work, honestly. The real point of my monotonous monologue – delivered in a flat, emotionless tone – was to scare him.

Luckily for me, the man was seemingly terrified of my very existence. "I'll tell you whatever you want!" He quickly screamed, his eyes shut and face turned away from me. "You're a monster… but I don't want to die! You… was that thing yours? The Fire Woman?"

I looked down at the Nord and couldn't help but smile. "Oh, you mean my Atronach? Yes, that is my familiar. It is a Daedra of considerable power, whom I have bound to my will. It's a simple enough thing with my power. Would you like to see it again?"

The look of absolute fear in the man's eyes was not something that I thought was possible. Sniffing the air, my face contorted into disgust. "Did you just soil yourself?" I demand. I received no answer as he visible shook. Glancing near his waist, I saw that a pool of liquid had formed. The smell was acrid, and more than just piss could produce. _I may have taken it too far._

"Now that you've ruined my mood, let's take care of business." I finally say. "Everyone but you in and around this tower is dead. All but the Khajiit woman you were with were incinerated by my familiar. You are bound and I could kill you in an instant. I could do so in a hundred different ways with but a thought. My companion here would love nothing more than to take your head, I'll bet. So, you better do as you said and tell me everything I wish to know."

The grin on my lips was quickly overshadowed by Victoria's as she gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, but did not draw it even an inch. He nodded vigorously. "Anything you want! Just ask it!"

"Are there others around here? You're pretty close to Bleak Falls' Barrow, so if there are any, they're probably over there, right?" More nodding from him – with how much his head is moving I need to hurry before he gives himself whiplash. "Okay, about how many of them are there? Are there any mages?"

The man seemed to be thinking for a moment. "There's probably… twenty-five of us at the Barrow. We don't got no mages though. Arvel don't like magic." Victoria seemed to react to that.

"Arvel the Swift?" She asked. "The name is familiar, but I don't remember why." She pursed her lips, clearly trying to recall something.

Honestly, I don't really know much about Arvel besides his name and that he has the Claw. "Arvel is probably your leader, right? What's so special about him?"

It was actually Victoria that responded. "Now I remember. Arvel is a wanted thief in Whiterun Hold. He's got some talent, and continuously avoids capture even when there seems to be no escape. I guess his reputation garnered enough respect to get even Nords to follow a Dunmer."

"That's right! Arvel can get coin from anyone without worryin' about jail! He picked up this key, a claw made out of gold. He says that the treasure hidden in the Barrow will set us all for life, we ain't have to steal nothin' ever again. Enough gold for us to have as much meat, wine and women as we want until we die!"

Victoria glanced at me, and I shrugged. There wasn't any treasure in the Barrow that I know about. Well, some Septims here and there, sure. Is this one of those game changing things I didn't think of? Or was Arvel just tricking the men, sure he could escape if it wasn't true?

Either way, I wasn't particularly interested in the wealth. The adventure was shaping up to be everything I was hoping for and more. The power was probably going to my head a bit, but I was genuinely having fun. Still, any gold would give me an easier shot at purchasing Helgen.

"I'm not sure about treasure, but the owner of that general store in Riverwood did tell me that someone stole something from him. Seems that Arvel broke in and took his Golden Claw after hearing some sort of rumor about ancient Nord treasure." I look down at the bandit, trying to think of anything else we might need to know.

"Isn't that what we're after as well, though?" Victoria noted. "Well, not any gold. The Jarl and his mage seem to think there is something of note in the Barrow as well, ancient Nord treasure, so to speak." At her words, the bandit began shaking again.

"The… Jarl sent you two?" Looking back towards him, I nod.

"Arvel's luck has run out. I don't know what his plans are and whether what he says is the truth, but it doesn't matter. We're going to go into the Barrow, slaughter all of his men, kill him and take the Claw for ourselves. If it really is the key to get the treasure we're after, then all of you are in the way. Killing dragons is far more important than your dreams of lazing about with prostitutes in a permanent, drunken stupor."

With a glance at Victoria, she understands and draws her blade. The hissing of steel against leather gets the man's attention immediately.

The horror in his eyes becomes a permanent fixture as his head is removed from his shoulders and tossed out the very hole he wished to escape through.

**And that's it!**

**Don't forget to leave your thoughts at the door through a nice little review, via one of those handy PMs or over on the Discord server at Discord-dot-gg-slash-PWDD44v**

**I've also got a Pat reon for anyone that wants to make an offering to my muse at pat-reon-dot-com-slash-orpheuskidwell**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	11. Chapter XI: Into the Barrow

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter XI: Into the Burrow**

Leaving the Tower and its occupants behind, we made our way towards the Barrow. There was no use in looting, given all their possessions had been burnt to cinder. That was something I would need to think about in the future, when using the Atronach. I still received experience for my Elementalist class though, so at least there was that; I didn't level up, though.

After some time, we came upon the familiar sight of a large rock with an attached banner flying in the heavy wind. Just beyond that, the stone ruins of Bleak Falls' Barrow came into view. A glance to the sky told me it'd been a couple hours since our departure from Riverwood. "If the tower was any indication, they'll probably have guards stationed at the entrance." I inform my companion, who gives me a nod.

"Are you going to summon your Daedra again?" She wonders. When I shake my head, the confusion in her eyes is visible. "Would it not make things easier?"

"What happens when you throw a destructive avatar of fire and death into a decaying temple older than the Empire itself?" Victoria thought a moment before sighing. "We don't want to destroy the Barrow, not before we're able to get what we came for. We're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way. We've got a better idea of what we're dealing with though, so it should be fine. As large as the Barrow is, they probably only left a few guards so the rest could go inside."

I draw my Staff of Oakflesh from my inventory, quickly casting it. The feeling is… strange, to say the least. My skin seems to tighten a bit as a shell of magic surrounds me. A light _pop _originates from the staff and then I'm surrounded by a skin-tight aura of light green. I can feel the magic not only above my skin, but underneath it. It's as if the spell has become interwoven in all layers of flesh in order to thicken it. Still, it doesn't seem like it's affected my movements.

"What is that?" Victoria wonders as the light fades a touch, but is still visible. "Some sort of protection magic?"

"Essentially, yes; it strengthens the skin to the durability of a fully mature oak. It's not impossible to be injured, but much more difficult now. I'll need to find a way to learn the better versions of the spells, or to learn Oakflesh without a staff, but for now this is the best I can do. Armor is a tad more difficult to get enchanted, I believe. Between that and spells like this, a Mage will always choose to wear cloth over armor, if possible.

"That said, I do think I might like to try my hand at something more durable than my own skin. I intend to learn how to enchant, so that I might be able to get both of us a set of properly made armor layered with enchantments. It'll just take some time for me to do so. I'll possibly have to go to the College. That's enough chatting though. Time to kill some bandits."

The look of determination and excitement in Victoria's eyes was all the signal I needed. She took the lead again, while I followed closely behind. Shield in hand, staff back in my inventory, I was prepared to cast a number of spells based on how things went.

Up the stone steps we went, running into a bandit who seemed to be trying to resemble a patrol. He was clearly half-drunk though. Without reserve, Victoria went for his unprotected throat. His head hit the stone with barely a sound, though his body took a moment longer to realize it was dead. I hadn't made any moves to assist her.

For one, she clearly had that under control. But also, I wanted to determine whether her kills afforded me any experience. Unlike with my summon, Victoria's kill didn't affect my numbers in the slightest. Given the mechanics of the system, it made a lot of sense. It was unfortunate, but I understood it. The system seemed to be very centralized around my growth.

My Atronach's kills gave me XP because I summoned it. It was an extension of me, like any other spell. Victoria, however, was merely a companion. While she was an underling as well, her will was not tied to mine. She could disobey orders and existed independent of any magical connection to me. At least, that's what I had to assume it was. With the lack of any Voice to tell me things, I could only take a stab in the dark based on my best guess.

I cleared all pondering from my mind, however, as Victoria began walking towards the second flight of stairs. Quickly, I stored the man's corpse and head into my inventory, marking the third one I'd gained today. There's no way it would be the last though. Catching up to her, I could make out some laughter ahead.

"They're definitely just drinking instead of keeping watch." Victoria noted with a measure of disappointment in her voice. "Do they not understand how incredibly important the role of watchman is for any operation?"

"I can hardly blame them, though. They're the second layer of defense. The first was a fifteen man strong tower garrison, complete with several archers. On top of that, we're in the middle of nowhere, off the beaten path of a back-country village, by Farengar's own phrasing. There's no reason for them to think anyone or anything is coming." Victoria smiles at my logic. Wait… no, she was definitely smiling at the fact that she's going to be able to put the fear of the Divines into these men before they die.

Shaking my head, I follow after her. The first of the remaining trio goes down before I can properly see how she did it. Before the pair of survivors can get up from their stoney seats around a makeshift campfire, she's already thrust her sword into one of their chests. The other at least gets to his feet before she backhands him with an armored fist.

I simply stand by and watch as she removes the blade from one man and flicks the blood off of it. Just when I think she's going to run the final man through, she surprises me. Instead, her heavily armored sole comes crashing down into the man's already bleeding head. She does that two more times, staining the snow, stone and steel in copious amounts of scarlet residue.

"You know, I don't really want to hear you call me ruthless again if that's how you're going to ambush a bunch of drunkards." I comment while approaching them.

"Orpheus. You only take the bandits to the Hall because you don't want necromancers to use their bodies, right?" At my nod, Victoria pressed on. "And you left all of those in the tower because they were burnt to a crisp, beyond what even the most accomplished necromancer might be able to raise, right?" I nodded again, already guessing what she wanted. "Just burn them then. They don't deserve the final rites of Arkay."

I paused for a moment to ponder it. _It's not like it would be particularly difficult. I can basically spam most of my spells non-stop without denting my mana pool, but is it going to upset Arkay? Even if it _does _upset him, would it matter? Is cremating a corpse without last rites or killing droves of undead worth more? _Coming to a decision, I sighed.

"Alright, I'll do it. Give me a moment." I went around, gathering the corpses into my inventory. Then, I unceremoniously dropped their naked bodies into a pile. Using Oil Slick, the pile was then doused in copious amounts of flammable liquid. With Stone Wall, I created five sides of a cube, while leaving one of the sides open. The top had a hole large enough to allow smoke through. Double casting Firebolt, I watched the bodies ignite and rose the final Stone Wall to close the construct up.

**Challenge: [You Shall Not Pass] (Use Raise Stone Wall 25 Times) complete**

**Reward: Stone Wall durability increased, Rare Gacha Token, [You Shall Not Pass II] unlocked**

**[You Shall Not Pass II]: Use Raise Stone Wall 50 times**

**Challenge: [Pierce the Veil] (Use Firebolt 25 times) complete**

**Reward: Firebolt damage increased, Rare Gacha Token, [Pierce the Veil] II unlocked**

**[Pierce the Veil II]: Use Firebolt 50 times**

"There, that should be hot enough to turn them into ash. I put enough oil on them to drown a horse." Shaking my head, I look around the campfire. There's blood and empty bottles everywhere – nothing that was actually worth looting. "Let's head inside."

I turned towards the entrance, noting that both of the doors were shut tightly. I knew for a fact – assuming the rest of this place followed the logic of the game – that there would be at least two or three people in the next room. There's no way these doors were going to open up silently. If we were lucky, then they would be as drunk and distracted as these grunts were.

As soon as I touched the door, I received the notification I knew was coming.

**Entering Dungeon [Bleak Falls Barrow]**

**Objective: Kill the Draugr Overlord**

**Objective: Kill the Wounded Frostbite Spider**

**Objective: Kill Arvel the Swift**

**Optional: Kill 10 Bandits**

**Optional: Kill 15 Draugr**

**Optional: Kill 30 Draugr**

I was expecting most of that. The fact that there was a Draugr Overlord in here made me a little nervous, but I was expecting the worst here. It was a dungeon guarded by legions of undead Nords, after all. Plus, as I'd seen, level lists didn't exist in this Skyrim. Due to that, it was probable that whatever tier or difficulty of enemy I expected, it would never be accurate.

Taking a deep breath, I glanced over to Victoria. She seemed to be itching to jump inside. Well, one of us is excited for this, at least. I slammed the door open, throwing caution to the wind, and immediately looked around the room for the bandits I knew would be in here.

While they weren't drunk, they most definitely were distracted. Victoria and I happened upon a scene where bandits were fighting a pack of – what I assumed to be – rabid skeever. One of them was on the floor, cursing and flailing as a few were tearing the flesh from his bones. A woman tried – and succeeded – to crush one with her mace. Unfortunately for the man, she also managed to break his shoulderblade. Well, I think that's what happened anyways, based on the pained scream, misshapen way his shoulder looked and the blood soaking his clothing.

I really didn't want to lose my dungeon challenges to a bunch of kill-stealing chihuahua, so obviously I had to get involved. From my hands, I launched enormous amounts of oil. It covered all the bandits and rats, but also managed to get their attention on me. Aggro only mattered if the enemy lived though, so I proceeded to launch Fireballs into every group. It ignited, and threw back, all of the bandits and skeevers. Animal, Man and Mer alike let out piercing screams while the fire burned them alive.

**Challenge [Great Balls of Fire] complete**

**Reward: Increased Fireball damage, Rare Gacha Token, [Great Balls of Fire II] unlocked**

**[Great Balls of Fire II]: Use Fireball 50 times**

Victoria wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You never quite get used to the smell of burning flesh." She muttered as the screaming continued. Their noise died down after not too long, though. I was content to leave them there, considering the XP I received added up to the number of things now dead. Victoria was not. She went around, shoving her sword into all the bandits and Skeevers. Some were beheaded. Some were pierced through the heart. The rats were kicked across the room to see if they'd even twitch in response.

Their now dead husks had charred flesh, but the temperature wasn't near enough to turn them to ash. Mammals were resilient like that. If they _had _been ash piles, I'm not certain that would have actually pleased the woman any more though. Her time at Helgen really did seem to have broken her, like I'd told Hadvar. I just wanted a free companion, but it might be worth it to keep an eye on her.

"Are you content now?" I wondered as she checked the last one. She turned to me with a frown. "No? They're all dead, I can assure you."

"There's only six here. We still have over a dozen to go through. It's probably best to push forward instead of creating another stone pyre like you did out there. It may be in our interest for you to store them until we clear the ruin of these low-lifes." I shrugged, making my way around the chamber to do just that. This would allow me to gather what was left of their gear, too. The furs were likely ruined. My inventory could clean bloodstains, but I don't think it would repair that much fire damage. At least the weapons were intact.

The skeevers were just fine the way they were. I could probably use their charred corpses in some sort of alchemical concoction. I'd rather not take a bite, but if I absolutely had to, I might just do it. Alternatively, I could just ask Arcadia what potions skeevers were good for. Since she wasn't just a mindless store owner for me to abuse whenever I needed a Giant's Toe, I could actually get some decent info out of her. As of yet, I hadn't actually brewed anything yet. Just talking to her gave me Alchemy XP.

That was for later though, and this was now. So, with that in mind, I finished my storage endeavors. A glance around the room revealed a crackling fire on the opposite side of the chamber we entered from. Next to that, lied a small chest. I was expecting something the size of the ones usually found in Skyrim, but I suppose it made sense that a bunch of thugs wouldn't want to lug around something that large.

Approaching it, I picked it up and shook it a moment. When the jingle of Septims resounded in the chamber, I couldn't help but grin. I had more than enough money to basically live a life of luxury in Whiterun already. I could easily pad my bank account even further with a night spent killing infinite hoardes of undead. Still, this was the first stash of coins I'd gained in a dungeon, and that gave off a different feeling than the mindless grinding I'd done in my nights.

"That's probably the coin that these men stole from passing merchants and underprotected nobels." Victoria noted as I stored it away. "It shall certainly help us in our journey." I couldn't help but give her a look. "What?"

"It's quite interesting how quickly you shifted from executor of justice to pragmatic adventurer, that's all. I'm not complaining. I'm not sure how long I could stand you if you were a stuffy heroine of justice that scolded me anytime I even thought about straying from the path of lawful good."

"A soldier is always pragmatic." Victoria replied evenly. "They do what they can, and take what they must. I am no longer an officer of the Empire, however. I would never do anything to harm my beloved country, nor to endanger General Tullius. This coin would have gone on to further the interests of these criminals had we not arrived, however.

"It is much better, I feel, for us to take possession of what the bandits we kill have taken into their possession. It would do the dead no good to leave it, and it would do the Empire no good should we fall into squalor. I know you are no friend of the Stormcloaks. Hadvar relayed to me what happened under the Keep. The Empire's fight is your fight. My loyalty is with the Empire. My life, however, is in your debt. I am gracious that I would be so lucky as to serve someone whom is as loyal to the Empire as I could hope a non-Legionary to be."

"Don't worry about that. I want to see the Rebellion crushed just as much as you do. I should have taken Ulfric's life when he was in front of me." I shake my head. It really was something I regretted. For one, it would mean the Civil War questline wouldn't exist and give me less obstacles to my adventure. For two, it would've been really interesting to see how things panned out if I did that.

"I do not blame you for only seeking to stay safe in the dragon attack, Orpheus. It was a situation no one had thought would occur, so there was no way for anyone to predict, let alone prepare, for it." She then looked towards the next portion of the ruin. It was a stone passage which led deeper underground, right into the heart of the mountain. "We must press on. If the bandits are split up, it will be better for us. So, we must find them before they regroup."

"There's no doubting that. We've been lucky this far, not having to fight any group that's too large for us." Glancing back at the scorched stone from the last fight, I frowned. "Those bandits aren't the only things to look out for though. If we were caught unawares by a bunch of rabid Skeevers, it might be bad. Those teeth can probably pierce wood, so even my Oakflesh wouldn't matter much."

While I was worrying about that, Victoria had made her way to the hallway which led deeper into the mountain. "That's not all we have to worry about, Orpheus." Curious, I made my way over towards her. "This looks like Frostbite webbing."

True to her word, the walls, ceiling and floor were coated in thick webs. What was here appeared to have been cut through, and there were a couple of dead Frostbite spiders on the floor. They weren't even half as big as the ones back at Helgen, but they were an addition to the world that hadn't existed in the game.

"Well, I guess we can add spiders to the number of pests we'll have to deal with." I muttered, shaking my head. I pulled two Potions of Night Eye from my inventory, handing one to Victoria. "Drink that. It will allow you to see in the darkness." I instruct her, taking a drink from my own. She waits for me to finish, then drinks about the same amount, leaving each bottle with roughly 80% of its contents left.

"There's no reason to drink it all." I point out as I store them back. "Drink too much and the effect will last longer. If we've got the effect active while it's still day and walk outside… well, I don't know if my one healing spell can fix blindness." It takes a moment for the concoction to kick in, but when it does I can clearly see everything in the dungeon.

Victoria also seemed to have become used to it, after blinking a few times. She didn't actually say anything though, just pressed forward. Thankfully, the webs were already mostly cut away, so she hardly had to cut anything back. While she kept her eyes out, I did my best to listen for anything out of place. **[Attuned Senses] **had actually proven to be quite useful already.

We were only about two-thirds down the hall when the first buzzing at the edge of my perception began. I couldn't really make out what it was, so I didn't halt Victoria. I did prepare **[Raise Stone Wall] **in case anything happened, though. Each step seemed to make the buzzing less distinct, as something else replaced it.

By the time we were at the bottom of the incline, I'd been able to make out faint voices. I still couldn't distinguish between them, nor understand what they were saying, but it was something at least.

The hallway opened up into a large chamber. There were various openings in the walls that probably led to other parts of the ruin. Each opening was surrounded by stone pillars from floor to ceiling, with no doors separating chamber from passageway. Unfortunately, most of those were blocked by rubble. As we got to the center of the chamber, I could make out where the voices were coming from, at least.

Some were coming from straight ahead, while others were coming from one of the passages on the left. It seemed that the ones on the left were much closer. I had a feeling that the path forward was straight ahead, but I also wanted to make absolute sure I could get all the optional objectives before other things killed the idiot bandits.

"I can hear voices to the left, Victoria." I mentioned. Her nod signaled that she did too. "There's also something faint coming from up ahead. Let's take out the group off to the side first, then attack the main group forward."

"How do you know that the main group is straight ahead?" She wondered.

"The left sounds close, but not too loud. It's unlikely that there's fifteen men that way. Bandits are not known for their discipline and quiet, after all." She nodded, seeming to accept my reasoning. I'm not sure if I was getting better at this whole lying thing, if my Charisma was picking up the slack or if what I said actually made sense to a veteran like her. At this point, I guess it didn't really matter.

Given that this section of the Barrow was a new addition to the world, I really wasn't sure what to expect. There were a couple of things I thought the hallway might open up into, but what we got wasn't one of them.

When I'd said that the voices were close, that was a relative term. The stone hall was much longer than I'd anticipated. It was long enough that it took a dozen steps for the voices to become clear. There were few, and they were quiet. I'd say about five muffled screams. Combined with the considerable amount of webs in the hallway, there was really only one conclusion to be made.

I halted Victoria just before the end of the hall. Just as we stopped, loud skittering could be heard from the chamber before us, following by hissing. Her sword was already drawn, and her body was tensed up for battle. "Don't worry about any injuries. I have plenty of antidotes to their venom, and plenty of potions to heal you up." I whispered so lowly even I could barely hear it. She seemed to pick it up though, relaxing a bit.

The two of us crept forward slowly, peering into the chamber. Along the walls, the bandits were encased in tight webbing. They struggled and screamed, but it wasn't doing them any good. Hanging from the ceiling were several clumps of webbing that I figured were those skeever corpses you could find in places like the underground of Helgen Keep.

In terms of the Frostbite Spiders themselves, I counted three. They were larger than the ones back in Helgen. I'd say each one was probably the size of a bull. They weren't close together, either. That meant I couldn't use the combination of Oil Slick and Fireball as an opening move. Times like this made me wish that I'd taken Summoner instead of Elementalist.

Well, if wishes were fishes then we'd all cast a net into sea, I suppose. This was now, and my choices up until this point had been made. There were no save slots, and I knew a curveball like this was bound to come.

Glancing at Victoria, I used to Observe to see that she had **[Valor] **from the **[United We Stand] **skill I'd picked up. We were only outnumbered by one, but it was enough. Any increase to her speed and damage was a welcome one.

She was waiting on me to either give her the go-ahead, or to make the first move. So, I'd just do the latter. I was better equipped to take them down at range, anyways. Mentally going over my list of spells for the best option, I couldn't help but grin. I hadn't used it in a long time, and my MP Regeneration was actually pretty ridiculous thanks to all my newly enchanted gear.

I stepped into the room as lightning crackled at my fingertips, thrusting my hand forward. As I watched the first bolt of lightning, it hit one of the spiders and forced it to convulse. The steady stream then jumped to the next spider and the last. From there, the bolts actually jumped to each of the five bandits, and the still living skeevers hanging from the ceiling. Even with over a dozen links in the chain, my MP kept filling faster than it drained.

Screw what I said before. This is the best! Nature's wrath is at my fingertips! These monsters are nothing but pests before me as I control the fabric of reality to exterminate them!

Well, I actually wasn't all that powerful yet, but I'd get there. I'd work my way to the point where I _was _able to rend reality itself. For now, killing anything that posed a danger to me was the best I could get.

**Challenge [The Weakest Link] completed**

**Reward: Increased [Chain Lightning] damage, Rare Gacha Token, [The Weakest Link II] unlocked**

**[The Weakest Link II]: Use Chain Lightning on 50 enemies**

After a few seconds, the convulsions halted. The webs all caught fire though, so I had to quickly use **[Condense] **to put them out. There was no use in adding fire to the number of dangers this ruin put on us.

**[Optional Objective: Kill 10 Bandits] completed**

**Reward: 250 XP, 250 Gold, Rare Gacha Token**

This room had certainly been helpful. The Skeevers and bandits had all dropped to the floor as their webbed prisons turned to ash. Obviously, I didn't have a choice but to store them for later. The spiders would be great for making as much poison as I wished, as well as whatever their various pieces could do. The bandits, though stationary, had managed to both net me the first optional objective _and _level up Elementalist.

**Level 200 Intelligence Reward Obtained.**

**[Savant Syndrome]: Increase all XP gains by 10%.**

**Level 200 Wisdom Reward Obtained.**

**[Self-Charging Battery]: Increase MP Regeneration by 1%.**

At this point, all my stats were either just under 100, or over 200. The discrepancy was definitely an imbalance I needed to address, but that could come later. Strength, Constitution and Luck weren't too necessary just yet. For now, it was more important to find the rest of our targets.

"Isn't that a spell used for torture?" Victoria wondered. "I mean, that might not be it's main use. I'm not too knowledgeable on magic. I have seen our torturers use that spell on their prisoners quite often, though."

"I think you're thinking of a different spell." I comment. "The one your torturers use is probably Sparks. This one is Chain Lightning. It's kind of the same, except Sparks doesn't jump from target to target like that. I used to not really be able to use it that much though, since each addition target drains more of my Magicka."

The former Imperial Captain seemed to think about that a moment before nodding. "It certainly does seem useful though. I'd hate to imagine how it would feel to be on the other end of that, especially in my armor. I'd be cooked alive!" She shook her head. "The Stormcloaks truly have much to fear if we can ever unleash you upon Windhelm."

"Perhaps our travels will lead us there, one day." I reply evenly as I lead the way back to the previous chamber. "Skyrim might seem large, but everything is interconnected. I have a few plans for the near future, but there's no telling where we might end up over the course of this journey. Killing a jarl isn't really on my list of things to do, but maybe it will be."

Her eyes lit up with just the faintest spark of hope. It was gone the instant it appeared, but I saw it. "Hopefully the other group hasn't gone too far." She whispered as the sounds of voices made their way to my ears.

"I don't think we'll need to worry about that." It doesn't take us long to get back to the chamber and then head down next passage. This one opens up to a familiar room. It's the one with the revolving stone puzzle. In the center of the room is a lever that either opens the gate, or activates the arrow trap aimed at the lever.

Two bandits lay dead at the lever, covered like pincushions in arrow shafts. The Dunmer leader, Arvel the Swift, is in this room as well. The gate hasn't been opened yet. It seems that we've actually arrived in the Barrow early enough that he couldn't properly get to the spider room. Victoria seems like she wants to press forward, but I place a hand on her shoulder.

"Hold on." I keep my voice low, not wanting to attract the bandits' attention. "See that lever there? Their gathered around it, clearly trying to figure something out. It probably opens the door there. I'm betting that it's also connected to a trap of some sort. Look at the bandits covered in arrows by it." Her eyes lit up as I explained. "Either they kill themselves to the last trying to figure out how to get it to work, or they solve it for us and we attack whoever is left."

"We shall do it your way, Orpheus." She agrees. It requires three more of them to die for the idea of infinite treasure before Arvel figures out the right way to position the stone statues. This room, unlike the game, doesn't have the solution above the door. When the door opens, Arvel is left with four of his minions.

Victoria jumps forward as soon as the gate is opened. Her sword finds its way into the heart of some Redguard woman. She's already choking on her own blood by the time the Imperial pulled out her sword and let her fall. Arvel could see Victoria in full steel plate, and me with an ice spike forming in my palm. He took the most obvious choice and began running.

The other three might've joined him, had I not rose a Stone Wall to block off the entrance. Arvel would meet his fate with the Wounded Frostbite Spider anyways, so it's not a big deal if he runs. I let my Ice Spike loose, watching it impale some Argonian in between his eyes. Victoria has already beheaded a Nord and stabbed through the stomach of another.

I glanced at her, watching as she removed her sword, flicked the blood off, sheathed it, and crushed the man's skull beneath her boot-heel. "Arvel got away." She grumbled as I began gathering corpses into my inventory.

"Don't worry about it." I replied, letting the wall down. "I'm fairly certain he won't get far. These hallways are narrow, filled with Skeevers and Frostbite Spiders. We also still have the Night-Eye Potion working. It's immaterial how far he runs. He can't hide from us. There's not likely to be any exit to this place, either. Arvel the Swift has run away from justice for the last time."

**And that's it!**

**Don't forget to let me know your thoughts in a review, via PM or over on the Discord server at Discord-dot-gg-slash-PWDD44v**

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**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	12. Chapter XII: Two Down, One to Go

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter XII: Two Down, One to Go**

Before we left the puzzle room, I made sure to snatch up the bodies and any useful loot before lowering the stone wall I'd used to trap the bandits with us. Through the doorway was a room that I vaguely recognized. Straight ahead was a table filled with urns and a book that was separated from us by a few stone stairs. I left the urns well-enough alone – there was no need to even possibly anger Arkay, after all.

The book, though, I make sure to store in my inventory. I'm unsure how Skill Books are integrated into the system – if they even are. I'll have to figure out whether I can use them or not whenever I get my next chance to go to the Instant Dungeon.

Ignoring that thought, and the impatient look Victoria is giving me, we move on to the last part of the room. Left from the entrance into this room is a large, spiral staircase that descends further into the mountain. Listening intently, I can't hear any skeevers. I distinctly remember a pack of them lying here in wait for the player to reach, but they probably chased after Arvel.

Victoria takes the lead and I let her. Her shield is raised as we make our way down. The lingering effect of our Nighteye potions is really coming in handy the further we go. Any torches that were placed on the walls up until now were done so by the bandits. They never reached this far though, so the caverns were likely something approaching pitch-black.

Of course, that did bring up the question of how Arvel was able to navigate his way through. As far as I knew, Dunmer didn't have any sort of low-light vision. Of course, my knowledge of Elder Scrolls lore was somewhat limited to a couple of games, so there might be some obscure thing I didn't know about that meant they did.

Regardless of all that, we reached the bottom of the stairwell without incident. There were no skeevers to speak of. Though, I could hear some in the distance. I ignored most of the decorum in our way this time, it was time to take care of Arvel. There was very little that actually mattered in terms of loot from here, after all.

As we pushed forward, the skeevers stopped making noise, but Arvel was only getting louder. His cries for help echoed far and wide down the stone hallways of the Barrow. Neither of us responded to him, though Victoria did seem noticeably more at ease now that he was trapped.

We finally reached the entry point to the spider's room and peered inside. Arvel was covered in webbing just as he always was in-game. Skeever lay scattered on the floor, probably a dozen or so in total. The Wounded Frostbite Spider was busy wrapping them up in little balls of webbing, which meant they were likely only paralyzed and not dead.

We stepped back from the opening seeing as we hadn't been noticed by either occupant just yet. "What is the plan, Orpheus?" Victoria asked in a hushed whisper, not wanting something so large to focus on us just yet.

"Well, if we weren't down in this place, I'd just summon my Atronach. Given I'd rather we didn't cause a cave-in, that's a no-go. I have antidotes to poison like I said. So, we'll probably be fine if we have to tussle with it up close. I don't think either of us really wants to do that though."

Looking at the doorway and doing a few mental calculations, I hum in thought. "I don't think it can fit through the opening there. However, there's no guarantee it can't just break through the wall. That would possibly cause a cave-in as well. I don't think there are any other spiders in there, but I didn't really get a good look."

"Could you just use that spell you used before? Wouldn't that immobilize it?" I shook my head after a moment. "Why not?"

"While it could work, the larger a creature is, the more resistant to electricity it is. On top of that, the spell would jump to different targets. If that Claw really is a key of sorts, pumping that much lightning through Arvel might warp it and make it impossible to actually use it to get into wherever it leads."

Victoria nodded. "So, we may have no choice but a frontal assault then? It is not as if I haven't fought things that large before, but it has usually been with the backup of the Legion." I thought a bit more before sighing.

"I think a frontal assault may be our only option. Those things are fast though, so we'll need to get the drop on it, so to speak. If we can take out one or two of its legs, then it would greatly reduce its mobility. Also, watch out for its mouth. It can spit a venomous substance that will eat through even metal and blind you if it gets into your eyes. A potion should fix you right up, but you can't properly drink one in the middle of combat."

With that in mind, I pulled a couple of potions I'd bought from my two shopping trips and handed them to my companion. "These are just in case. If you need to drink them, let me know and I can raise a wall or two between the spider and you to give you a few seconds to breathe. Drink these now though – they're a Regeneration Potion and a Potion of Poison Resistance. They should give you a better shot against that thing."

She graciously accepted them, emptying the bottles in moments. I stored them in my inventory, then readied myself. After a moment, I headed back to the doorway and regarded the spider that still had yet to notice us. I likely only had one shot at this, so I wanted to make it count.

Charging up a Lightning Bolt in either hand, I let them fly for the joints on two of the thing's legs. A loud _crack _echoed in the chamber as the legs were blown off with such force that when they hit the walls, the stone cracked. This was followed by a shrill noise that was almost like steel grinding against concrete – only it was louder and continuous.

Victoria wasted no time and rushed forward, sword in hand. Eight eyes focused on her, even while it still screamed in pain. The thing scurried away, walking up one of the walls and looking down at us. A quick glance at the legs – both of which embedded themselves into the wall – showed that they were violently twitching.

My companion had her shield raised while the thing moved across the walls. It didn't stay in one place, which was the biggest thing that stayed my hand. If I missed and it destroyed too much wall, then it could cause a cave-in. That was my biggest concern down here.

Before I could come to a decision, the spider launched a glob of its acidic and venomous spittle at Victoria. I raised a Stone Wall to protect her, which only served as a warning to us. The venom fizzled on the surface of the stone and ate _through _the wall, producing a large hole that I know she could peer through had she wanted.

The wall crumbled not long after, and this served to keep Victoria moving as much as the spider. I had to act quickly or this might get out of hand. Opening up a menu, I glanced through my spells to see if I was forgetting anything and grinned. Placing my hand on the stone doorway, I concentrated and cast several incarnations of Stone Spikes.

From the doorway to the spider – who stood on the opposite wall – a trail of spikes emerged. It was still quick enough to evade being punctured, but this forced it to the floor. It was either that or fall prey to the rapidly growing number of spikes that were spreading on the wall it used as a safe haven.

**Challenge [Pincushion] complete!**

**Rewards: [Stone Spikes] deals extra damage, Rare Gacha Token, [Pincushion II] Unlocked**

**[Pincushion II]: Use Stone Spikes 50 times**

Dismissing the notification, I watched as Victoria rushed the thing. She lunged for its head, hoping to put an end to this quickly. Even with only six legs and in extreme pain – that was my assumption, at least – it still managed to evade her. Her blade did succeed in nicking the left side of its abdomen near the top though, so that was something.

She was quickly forced to jump back as more of that venom was spat in her direction, but this gave me a pretty good shot to get my own hits in. My left hand sprayed out oil that covered its right side while my right hand shot a firebolt. It tried to back up, but I figured it would move in the direction opposite me. My firebolt just barely managed to hit one of its legs that were covered in the oil. That was enough, though.

That shrill noise suddenly rose in pitch as the spider was half-covered in orange flame, half not. It began running around madly, screaming so loud it became difficult to think. It tried putting the fire out by bashing its right side against the stone wall, but the oil ensure that it wouldn't work. Finally, it's legs simply burned up to the point that it fell, unable to support its weight anymore. It still continued to express its pain as the fire engulfed it completely.

I would've allowed it to continue, but I really wanted whatever I could get from the thing for alchemy. With that in mind, I used Condense and put out the fire. The thing twitched, but I couldn't really tell if it was dead or not when I approached it.

Well, whether it was dead or not didn't really matter. I stored it in my inventory for later. If it wasn't dead, I could just kill it when I pulled it back out without issue. That left only one thing.

**[Objective: Defeat the Wounded Frostbite Spider] complete!**

**Rewards: Super Rare Gacha Token, 1000 XP, 1000 Gold**

"Thank the Divines! I thought that it would eat me for sure!" Alvor shouted from his webbed prison. Based on his position, it looked like he had run from the skeevers face-first. He probably tried to struggle and only managed to entangle himself further.

"You shall wish the spider had the chance to eat you, enemy of the Empire," Victoria stated as she approached him, sword ready to strike and grin on her lips.

"No, wait! Please! You wouldn't believe the power that the Nords kept buried here! I know how it all works! The Claw! The Hall of Legends! I know how it fits together! Cut me down, and I can guide you there!" Victoria ignored him.

"Stop." I only used one word, but it was enough to stay her hand. She sheathed her blade, curious what I was up to. "You say you'll help us if only we cut you down?"

"Yes! Yes, of course!"

**+30 Reputation with Arvel the Swift for being gullible (20/100)**

With great effort, I kept my eye from twitching as I held my hand out. The Ebony Blade appeared in my palm as I approached the man. "Don't move, and I'll cut you down." I allowed none of my emotions to seep into my voice, trying to be as convincing as possible.

"Oh, thank you!"

**+30 Reputation with Arvel the Swift for sparing his life (50/100)**

**[Merry Men] acquired!**

**[Merry Men]: Reputation with criminals and rebels increases faster.**

Instead of slashing at the webbing, I lunged the blade right into his back. The white silk was stained red quite quickly, especially after I pulled the blade from his body. By my estimate, I probably punctured his heart and one of his lungs with that, which should lead to a painful, if quick, death as he drowned in his own blood.

**[Objective: Kill Arvel the Swift] complete!**

**Rewards: Rare Gacha Token, 500 XP, 500 Gold**

**+1 Charge added to The Ebony Blade.**

**[Backstabber] effect added to The Ebony Blade.**

**[Backstabber]: The Ebony Blade will deal higher damage based on the Reputation with a target. Maxed out Reputation ensures a one-hit kill.**

My eyes widened a bit at that. This was a system that Skyrim never had. It also didn't actually tell me how many charges would max it out. Well, that's fine. The Ebony Blade isn't necessarily what I imagined myself to use as my main weapon, anyways.

Ignoring all of those thoughts, I slashed away the webbing that held up Arvel. As he fell to his back, the way forward opened up. I didn't even bother searching him for the Claw. I just stored his corpse in my inventory and then pulled the Claw out to show Victoria.

"That's what all this trouble is for?" She wondered. "That looks like the sort of gaudy trinket a low-born merchant would have in his house as decoration." After a moment, she coughed into her hand. "No offense meant, Orpheus."

I waved her off, storing it back. "None taken. Technically speaking, that's exactly what it was. Remember, the man who owns the Riverwood Trader is the one who owned this before. I'll give it back to him when we leave here, assuming whatever is required doesn't remove it from our possession." I know nothing like that would happen, but Victoria doesn't. "Anyways, let's press onward."

The Draugr should be coming up soon. That thought was just on the edge of my mind up until now, but now it seemed to dominate. This system-defined hatred of undead really was getting on my nerves.

Sure, I probably wouldn't have liked undead no matter what happened. That wasn't really the point though. I knew that these weren't my thoughts. I knew that these weren't my feelings. They were still there though, right at the back of my mind, itching to break into the surface. That was the annoying part. It wasn't that they existed, but that they were being forced onto me.

I mean, sure, this was based on my own actions. I guess actions are supposed to have consequences, especially in an RPG. This was _Skyrim _though, where everything was meaningless and even if you beat Alduin before doing the Companion questline, they'd have no idea who you were. This was supposed to be the headquarters of your actions being inconsequential and the very epicenter of shallow RPG gameplay. Why did the System have to go and add that much realism to somewhere like this?

Well, realism was a bit of a stretch. I still didn't have to eat or drink anything. I still only needed a half-hour of sleep. I was still regularly entering pocket dimensions to do nightly grind sessions against enemies that only existed to be destroyed by me. There were menus and system interfaces popping up left and right, some of which I'd never seen before.

That was all beyond the point though! This was supposed to be the very pinnacle of do whatever you want and nothing bad will happen, this is the most casual of casual worlds experience. I was ticked off at the system for a lack of warning, but I was most angry at myself for thinking anything from my base experience would work its way here after everything else I'd noticed about the change in environment.

This wasn't the time or place to worry over trivial matters like the nature of existence though. I was in a dungeon. Not only that, but things were likely about to start getting serious. Gone were the trash mob bandits, skeevers and spiders. Now, it was time to eradicate some Draugr.

The two of us made out way past Arvel's web-coated doorway and into a stone chamber with bronze urns organized neatly on one side. "Is it suddenly colder in here, or is that just my imagination?" Victoria pondered with as she shivered a bit.

"It does seem a bit more chilly." I acknowledged with a frown. Accessing my inventory, I pulled out a Potion of Cold Resistance and handed it to her. "This should warm you up. Well, it will help you ignore the cold, at least." Not to mention, it'll be useful against any Draugr using Frost magic on us. She drank roughly a quarter of the potion, and then I followed suit.

As soon as the liquid touched my throat, I couldn't help but shiver. It wasn't because it was cold. It was just the opposite in fact. It felt almost like all of the cold in my body I'd been ignoring up until this point was forcibly expelled from me the moment the potion ran through me. I hadn't even noticed the slight numbness in my toes until it disappeared. Alchemy was definitely the right choice, it seemed.

Putting the bottle back in my inventory, I glanced around the room. There was only one direction to go, towards the crypt. Victoria took the lead. That was fine with me. I did make sure to have some fire spells ready to cast at a moment's notice though. _Those abominations don't deserve the space they take up by existing._

The thought came to me without realizing it. I had to take a deep breath to eradicate the feelings of hatred that both were and were not my own. These traits were annoying when they came with extra baggage, that's for sure. I doubt that getting an opposing trait would even help. That might just make me schizophrenic. What would possibly constitute as an opposing trait anyways? I doubt Arkay would take kindly to necromancy or necrophilia, so best to just ignore that train of thought.

After a few moments of walking, we arrived in the first chamber with Draugr. Hollowed out portions of the stone walls contained body after body. It wasn't a meager amount like in-game either. This was an _enormous _burial ground. The corpses were stacked five rows high, and there seemed to be at least a hundred or so bodies just in this room.

On top of that, some of the bodies seemed to have this… red glow to them. It wasn't particularly luminous, just a thin veil of maroon that surrounded them. If I had to guess, that was the passive **[Detect Undead] **ability that Arkay's blessing bestowed on me. By my count, there were seven Draugr in here. It was actually pretty slim compared to the pool of corpses that existed in this room. "Victoria, hold on." She seemed like she was going to fully enter the room until I said something.

Given there was no use in letting them get out of their beds, I launched two Firebolts at two of the Draugr. She might've lambasted me if not for their sudden screaming. She was likely also further convinced of my decision when they jumped out of their open-air coffins and began to thrash on the floor, in an attempt to put the fire out.

The other five went on high alert when the screaming started. I didn't give but one of them the chance to even do anything though, as more Firebolts found their targets. The first two didn't even get to raise their bodies up. The next two were hit mid-air as they tried jumping to the floor. The last one actually managed to land on its feet before it, too, was engulfed in flames.

The undead writhed on the floor for a little longer, their flesh giving way to bone, and then to ash. The fact that they could feel pain was actually something that seemed strange to me. Perhaps it was simply because of the purifying nature of fire? Or maybe those stacking bonuses against undead were paying off.

"How did you know those were undead?" Victoria finally found her voice. She wasn't scared, just surprised.

"Something I picked up from my time with that Priest of Arkay in Whiterun," I explained. It wasn't a total lie. "Something seemed off, and the spell showed me which ones were undead, and which were actual corpses." Also not total lies. "We're going to need to keep an eye out for any more. There's no telling what's in here." Okay, that one was basically a lie.

"Well, at least you don't have to store their bodies." She replied. Turning to the once undead husks, there were no more Nords. All that remained was ash. It wasn't in a neat little pile either. It was strewn across the places they'd struggled.

"One less thing to worry about. That's just what I like to hear." Glancing around the room, I'm content that there are no other auras. I do have to stop Victoria from trying to progress though. There's a pressure plate on the floor. I drop one of the wooden chairs from Helgen I still hadn't managed to sell on top of it.

A large wall inlaid with rusty spikes smashed into it, exploding it into a couple of large chunks and thousands of splinters. "It's a dungeon hiding treasure. We also need to keep an eye out for traps. Remember that puzzle room with the lever and the arrows?"

"You are far too competent at this. Are you really just a merchant from the capital?" She wondered suspiciously. "Either way, thank you for keeping me alive."

"I may have picked up a skill or two in my travels. Tamriel is a dangerous place even in the best of times, which the Empire has not seen for quite a while. I didn't pick up Destruction magic on a whim, you know." Actually, I totally did. That's not really conducive to this backstory I'm creating though.

"I see. I'm sure you have some interesting stories. We really should press on though. I'd rather not sleep in these caves tonight if we can help it." I nodded.

"Yeah, that seems like a bad situation. Be careful not to step on that pressure plate and we should be fine." Without the idiotic pathfinding that Bethesda AI have, I was actually able to come through this dungeon with a companion _and _not have to worry about them accidentally killing themselves by stepping on a pressure plate. It was actually a pretty great feeling.

The next room was yet another crypt of Draugr, and I dealt with them similarly. There were only five this time, but there was no reason to change a good strategy. Of course, while the Draugr were an inconvenience up until now, there was a slightly bigger problem.

"Do you have anything for this trap, Orpheus?" Victoria wondered. I know she was being genuine and sincere, but I still thought there was just a hint of sarcasm in her tone. Sarcasm is my thing, goddammit!

"You know, I can't say that I do." Despite my annoyance, my voice was still as flat as ever. Before us was a variation on the Barrow's first swinging ax trap. Instead of a short passage with three swinging, double-sided axes swinging in perfect sync, it was a larger hallway with seven axes swinging back and forth in what was basically a random rhythm. At the end of the hall, there was a chain hanging that I knew would shut the trap down.

I attempted to raise a wall in front of one of them, only to watch as it immediately slashed _through _it without slowing even a little. "Well, that's not what I wanted," I mutter while thinking over my spell list. Oakflesh won't help, and Stoneflesh wouldn't either if that's anything to go by. I'm unsure whether Healing can recover a severed limb, or a split skull either. Telekinesis would be really helpful to just pull the chain, but nothing like that is in my spell list either.

Meanwhile, Victoria wasn't looking at the axes, but at the floor. "I don't think there's enough room to crawl under them. This is actually constructed quite well, for a bunch of backwards Nords." The two of us coincidentally sighed at the same time. I really didn't want to be the one to run through the swinging axes. That was the _last _thing I wanted to do. My Perception was high enough that they moved slow enough that I probably _could _do it, but god damn it was terrifying.

Victoria pointed towards one of the walls, emphasizing the slits which the axes went in and out of when they weren't in the path. "Can you clog those up with anything?" She then pointed up to the high ceiling at the bearing the axes were connected to. "Or can you do something about those?"

Well, if I can't stop them in their path, aiming for something else could help. "I can try, that's for sure." First, I decided to try the openings. After similar results to raising the stone wall in the middle, it was pretty clear that was a no-go. Unfortunately, I didn't really have any other means of blocking the path.

Looking up at the bearings, I began to think about what I could do there. "Well, go big or go home, I suppose." I launched a bolt of lightning at one of them.

Now, my Perception stat is quite good, so I know I can trust my senses. That's why I watched it closely. Lightning, of course, travels a bit faster than even my enhanced senses can follow, so I was only able to see two flashes. Strangely, I was looking at the ceiling about six feet away from the trap as well. "Orpheus!"

After a moment, I realized that I was laying down on the stone floor. That was weird. When did I lay down? "Are you alright?" Victoria came into my line of sight at about that time. Since when were there three Victorias?

"I didn't know you were a triplet." My voice sounded… distant as I said that. It was also tinged with a little slur, as if I'd been drinking. Alcohol sounded good right now. It might help with this damned headache.

"Orpheus, you need to give me a healing potion. Can you do that?" After a moment, I blinked, looking at her.

"Did you get hurt? Sure, here you go." My lips formed a frown as I tried lifting my arm up, only to realize that it wasn't moving. Looking to my right, the clouds around my head dissipated. My arm was _black_. I don't mean in the shadow or African sort of way either. It was _charred_ like I just stuck it in the oven for two hours longer than it should've been.

With the focus came the _pain_. By the Gods, it hurt like a bitch! Someone was screaming, which didn't help my headache. Only after a moment did I realize that someone was me. I did manage to shut my mouth before too long, but that didn't change the fact that my entire right arm was basically dead.

A few more moments and I managed to open my inventory with my left hand, pulling out one of the maximum strength HP potions I'd got from Arcadia.

Victoria quickly took it from me, uncorked it, and proceeded to dump it on what was left of my right arm. I watched as the charred bit began to fall off and pink flesh replaced it. The pain was gone basically instantaneously. Even my headache and the sore throat from screaming disappeared. These potions were way too potent. What was up with the balance of this world?

My companion sighed in relief, but said nothing further. After a minute, I sat up. I was also pretty silent as I flexed my finger and moved my arm just to get a feel for if it was anything less than what it should be. Surprisingly, everything seemed to be in perfect order. "I don't think I'll be deactivating the trap from this side." I finally explained.

"I saw two flashes after I cast my spell. The first one was obviously my Lightning Bolt. I think the second was it being sent back at me. This thing is layered with some sort of defensive enchantment. This is a tomb that holds the map of all dragon burial sites in Skyrim, after all. Of course, it's well-guarded. There's no choice but to do this the hard way."

"Alright, I'll do it." I looked at the woman quizzically. "I am your bodyguard. I am supposed to ensure your safety. Something like this is a task that I need to do. You're the one that was given the quest by the Jarl. I'm the one that has to keep you alive. Plus, if you got caught by one of those blades, we might be in trouble. If I get caught by one, you've got the potions to heal me up."

"Your armor is going to slow you down." I point out.

"It'll also possibly keep me alive if I get hit. It may not be Skyforge Steel, but it can probably hold up against these things at least once. If not, it'll at least soften the blow." I frowned, but sighed.

"Give me your sword. It won't do you much good and might get caught up in the downswing. Also, let me at least give you some extra protection." I pulled out my Staff of Oakflesh, coating her in the spell before storing it – along with her sword and shield – back in my inventory.

The two of us stood before the trap, watching as blades swung back and forth. There was just enough room in between them that she should be able to remain unscathed if she stood completely still. "Don't push your luck. Go one layer at a time. I have a feeling there are far more dangerous things to come."

"Don't worry, I've got a job to do and orders to follow. I won't be going anywhere."

**And, that's it!**

**So, things are moving right along. Still gonna be stuck in the Barrow for another chapter, but I promise that events will move right along quite quickly after that. Questions may receive answers and answers will probably lead to more questions.**

**Don't forget to leave your own questions (or comments) in the form of a Review, a PM or just pop on over to the Discord server at Discord-dot-gg-slash-PWDD44v**

**I've also got myself a pat reon if you want to check that out. It's over at pat-reon-dot-com-slash-orpheuskidwell**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	13. Chapter XIII: Consequences

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter XIII: Consequences**

A familiar emptiness surrounded me. I felt like I should recognize it, but it only put me on edge. I tried to figure out exactly where or when I'd last been in this empty space, but any sort of thinking seemed to be difficult. My whole head felt cloudy… and just thinking about thinking sent a strange sensation through me. It wasn't exactly painful, but it was uncomfortable.

"**Best not strain yourself too much. We're still in the process of Reconstructing your form based on your last Representative's files. His coding is all over the place though and I can't really make heads or tails of how it works."**

Looking around, there was no one I could see that could've talked. "Hello? Who's there? What do you mean Reconstructing my form?" There was… something at the edge of my mind, a nagging feeling that something bad had happened, but it wasn't anything solid that I could grasp. That discomfort just returned.

"**They don't pay me enough for this." **The voice sighed in exasperation. "**You died. Well, you died again, I suppose. I don't know the specifics, but they shouldn't be too difficult to bring up, assuming that imbecile followed the SOPs for once." **After a moment, the emptiness was broken up a bit with what appeared to be a three-dimensional, fully technicolor hologram.

It was frozen for the moment, likely paused. Two figures stood in a dark chamber, the walls made of large, stone bricks coated in moss and cobwebs. A couple corpses lay at their feet, while what appeared to be an ax hanging from the ceiling of a narrow hallway was behind them. As I watched, the hologram expanded until I was in the center of the chamber, the scene surrounding me.

The chamber itself was quite large, with a set of stone steps heading to a second level that had a wooden rope bridge across the 'ceiling' of the first floor. Torches sat unlit on the walls and I imagined the scene would be dark if it weren't for the fact that the white background of wherever I was made the hologram stand out that much more.

That was when the holograms then began moving. Oddly, the two figures seemed vaguely familiar. The man was tall, with dark hair and wore robes. Even before his hands lit up with fire, I could tell he was likely a wizard of some sort. The other was a woman in a full steel plate armor, sword and shield in hand.

Their enemies were some sort of skeleton-looking monsters. They weren't actually skeletons, but their flesh was so tight against their bones they may as well have been. All of them wore some sort of rusted armor and wielded various weapons that looked nordic in design. Again, all of this seemed distinctly familiar, but I couldn't quite place them. The whole scene seemed familiar, honestly.

"**Now, do me a favor and just keep yourself occupied with that while I work. I thought I'd have this all taken care of before you regained consciousness but that absolutely braindead stain on reality only exists to ruin my day. If he wasn't already fired I'd have to go and end him myself."**

Oddly, the disembodied voice faded away after that while the scene played out. I had so many questions, but maybe watching would give me some answers. So many things were just on the edge of my memory. I could tell because that discomfort was growing and it was actually turning into pain at this point. Yet, no matter how much I strained, it stubbornly remained just out of reach.

Unnerved but holding, the woman raised her shield as shouting in some language I couldn't even attempt to recognize rang through the chamber. An uncountable number of steps then echoed from the floor above, showing a veritable army of those skeletal but not quite skeleton things. Looking at the woman, I could see the fear clearly visible in her eyes, while the man had the outward appearance of someone without fear.

Sparks danced along his fingers before an arc of lightning shot out. It hit the first of those things, then jumped to another and another. The attack only lasted a moment or two though before stopping and, even then, only half a dozen of them had fallen. Undeterred, the not quite skeletons simply stepped over their fallen comrades and rushed at the duo.

The man glanced around a moment, before turning to the woman. "Victoria, back through the trap. They'll just surround us out here." She nodded and followed after him through that passage with the hanging ax. As they moved, I felt myself move as well. It wasn't a conscious decision, but something forced upon me.

She held up her shield, but the man waved her off. After a moment, a wall of stone rose up to block the passage into the new chamber they were in. This one had quite a few of those monsters on the floor, though they all seemed to be dead. "I'm not sure we can take on that many Draugr, Orpheus." Victoria – as she had been called before – remarked to her companion.

Clearly unwilling to give up the man, Orpheus, nodded and seemed to be thinking. "I don't think we can outrun them either, if I'm honest." He stated rather grimly. "They move fast and the undead don't tire like we do. Let's keep moving though." The two of them kept pushing away from the passageway, but after only a few moments the wall was broken. Looking at the rocks all along the passageway's floor, it was clear he'd actually filled the entire thing with those walls.

Looking at these so-called Draugr though… they were packed like sardines in the passageway, and there were plenty more that I couldn't see in the previous chamber based on the sound of foreign shouting and metal hitting metal in what I could only assume was an ax being banged on a shield.

They flooded into the room, and that sent the duo sprinting up an incline, which meant that I was being forced along faster than I could observe my surroundings. Even still, I could tell that the gap between the army and the duo was shrinking quickly. They wouldn't have much longer, at this rate. Hopefully one of them had a plan. From the looks of it, Orpheus was the leader.

It was when they got to the room with all the webs things really took a turn for the worst. The woman's shield got caught in a web along the wall, and the precious few seconds she took to decide it was better to leave it was all it took for the army to get there. Orpheus tried that lightning spell a second time, with similar results. A few dropped dead, the others looked to be in pain, but otherwise they were fine. Them being fine was terrible for the other two. Within mere moments they were surrounded. Without her shield, Victoria could only attempt to take a few down with her.

She did manage to slay quite a number of them before an ax to her helmet got her. She crumpled to the floor in a heap while another of the Draugr, with a sword, stabbed her right through the throat. Orpheus wasn't faring much better.

He didn't use any other spells, for some reason. What he did do was conjure a staff with a strange, purple crystal embedded in the tip. After a moment, it began glowing. A moment more, and a feminine figure phased into existence covered completely in fire and floating a couple inches off the ground.

As soon as the fire elemental manifested, Draugr directly around her caught on fire. They were still able to move and attack a bit before completely turning to dust though. One of them spoke in that strange, foreign tongue, and the Draugr shifted their focus from the Elemental, to Orpheus. I also noted that the cobwebs had caught fire in the middle of all this.

The Elemental began lobbing balls of fire at the Draugr, each one causing a small explosion that sent surrounding ones in all directions. Each time they slammed into one of the walls though, the ceiling shook.

Orpheus seemed to also understand what was about to happen. Draugr blocked every path to get out of this chamber, even if the horde was thinning considerably. It didn't seem like the chamber would last long enough to make an escape though. He was doing his best to help the Elemental tear down the Draugr with various spells, but they just kept coming.

In the end, the fight lasted maybe half a minute more before the tell-tale signs of rocks falling filled the hologram, and everyone died.

"**And, there we are. I think I've finally got the process done." **That voice chimed in after a few minutes. "**I'm not actually your Rep, and I don't want to get fired, so I'm just gonna find the new girl so she can give you the spiel and risk her existence."**

It wasn't a moment after the Voice left that things started to click in my head. Memories came flooding back one after the other. All of them led to one, singular thought.

"I couldn't even finish the starter quest." I sighed in exasperation. "Talk about a difficulty spike. I think I'm starting to see why balancing a game is important." Looking around the familiar Limbo that I ended up in the first time I died, I couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen next.

Was I about to be punished with an eternity in this empty space? Or was this another transition? There wasn't really any use in worrying about it though, since I couldn't actually do anything about it. Idly, I tried to open my inventory so that I could at least have something to do. Curiously, nothing happened.

"**Oh, that won't do anything." **A new Voice surrounded me. This time it was definitely that of a woman, with a slight accent that I couldn't quite place. "**Hello there uh…" **She paused for a moment and the sound of rustling papers caught my attention. "**Ah! Hello there, Mr. Kidwell. I am your new Customer Service Representative and will be guiding you through the process of re-reincarnation!"**

"What happened to the last guy?" I wondered. The woman, although cheerful before, became very quiet.

"**He was a tad too loose with his lips, if I am to understand. While our job is to guide you through your Deluxe Reincarnation Package, allowing too much information too quickly can have drastic consequences on how well you enjoy your experience. For that, he was removed from service and has had his soul decommissioned.**

"**The far more important thing right now is you. I'm sure you're full of so many questions right now, which I would love to answer for you."**

Decommissioned his soul? That sounds like a lovely retirement program. Sure glad I don't work for whatever hell-ish corporation this is. Oh wait, yes I do. I'm a beta tester. "What the hell was up with that horde of Draugr? There's no way I would've been able to properly prepare for that in time, you know. You could've at least put me in the body of someone who wasn't 'The Chosen One' or something. Or better yet, don't start me off as an adult with no levels. If I had, had a whole lifetime to craft my character, then I probably would've been able to do it."

"**Hmm? So you believe that if you had had more time then it would've allowed you to take on even something with odds that unfavorable? That's quite interesting. I'll note that down and send it off to the Department of Balance. Aside from that, did you have any issues with the world? On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your experience?"**

Annoying, now I get to do a survey? "I dunno, I guess up until that moment it was pretty fun. I'd probably say a seven overall or something."

"**Ah, I see. Well, I'll take your data and send it off to the proper Departments in charge of that world. If you have no other questions, would you like me to explain where things go from here?"**

"That would be a nice change of pace, yes." I reply, somewhat frustrated with the whole thing. I really had been having fun, and my death had been so abrupt that it left me in a bad mood. Even as I thought about it, that frustration was lessening though. "Actually, I have a question. I can feel that Gamer's Mind thing affecting me right now, but I think it might've bugged out back at the Barrow. I definitely remember being terrified for my life."

"**Did my predecessor forget to explain that to you? My apologies on his behalf! You see, Gamer's Mind is still in a prototype stage. We found that its effects could vary wildly based on each individual, so the Representative is actually tasked with monitoring your mental state and adjusting it manually. After some time, the AI running your personal System learns what the correct balance is to your emotions and this ensures that it acts properly. Without your Representative, however, it simply did not act because it hadn't learned enough."**

"That's great. So, I was not only testing an unbalanced world, but also unfinished parts of the System? I'm not even a beta, I'm an alpha tester. Okay, it's fine. What's next for me? Am I gonna be stuck in this place for an eternity since I died again?"

"**Oh, Heaven's no!" **The Voice exclaimed in surprise. "**As was explained to you when you first arrived, or should have been, you have been selected for the Deluxe Reincarnation Package, complete with an all-expense paid trip through the multiverse and The Full Gamer Experience, thanks to our generous sponsors at Mountain Dew. Did my predecessor not explain what that entailed?"**

"Nope, just kinda said it to me. I actually thought it was some sort of joke when I first heard it." I explained with a shrug.

"**On the contrary, it is quite an honor!" **The Voice proclaimed. "**Death is no reason for your fun to end! While traveling to other parts of the Multiverse is quite possible once you've reached a certain milestone in wherever you are spawned, there is also an alternate method. However, it is ill-advised to do this purposefully.**

"**If you should meet your end in one of the worlds we send you to, then you'll wake back up here. If necessary, we shall Reconstruct your physical form, which shouldn't take very long! We will then send you back out into a different world, allowing you to take one thing from your previous journey with you. The catch, however, is that the rest of your data will be wiped and you'll have to start anew, unfortunately.**

"**While this is certainly meant to be a vacation from the mundane, we are also in our trial run period. For this reason, we'd rather you spawned in with the absolute minimum amount of differences to others – aside from your System, of course! There is also the slight issue that different worlds function differently.**

"**Due to that, it is quite imperative that the System accommodates your starting world. Of course, you** _**will**_ **receive a slight experience bonus to the classes you held previously based on how far into them you were able to get, so fear not!"**

"I'm gonna have to go through character generation again, aren't I?" I deadpanned.

"**Do not worry, that won't be necessary! Based on the world you'll be spawned into, you won't even have to worry about it. I think I'll even be able to make sure we integrate your suggestion to see just how well you'll do! Now, onto the matter of what you'd like to take with you. As I wasn't around to observe what you've done, I've had an AI analyze what you used most often in your travels to grant you the most likely options."**

As she finished speaking, several screens opened up before me. I spotted various spells I'd used frequently, like Raise Stone Wall and Fireball. There was also my shield, my robes, and my two staves. The most interesting one though, was the screen that showed Victoria. "Wait, I can take one of my companions with me?"

"**Oh yes! The moment a permanent party member joins you, the System regards their existence as belonging to you! Of course, there is a chance that a person can reject your offer, in which case you are allowed to either force them anyways or make a new choice. Would you like me to summon her so that you can ask?"**

After a moment of thinking, I couldn't really see how any of these other things could be as useful as a companion right from game start. In a world without magic, throwing fireballs would be difficult to do without gathering unwanted attention. Outside of a world tied to Oblivion, there's no guarantee that the staff would actually summon my Atronach. A shield crafted at the Skyforge by Eorlund Gray-Mane was great, but how useful would it be a setting with guns or where the enemies were too fast to see? Another person was the best option no matter where I ended up.

"Yeah, go ahead and bring Victoria here." I finally replied. There was no response besides the manifestation of a bright blue ball of light. The sphere began to slowly expand in all directions until it took a familiar form. Flashing once, the light was gone and Victoria was standing before me. She looked around, frantically, before making eye contact.

"Orpheus? What's going on? Where are we? What happened to the Draugr?" I smiled at her and placed a hand on her shoulder, which seemed to calm her a little.

"Don't worry, Victoria. It's over and done with. We're not at the Barrow. Actually, we're not even in Tamriel anymore. This is going to take a bit of explaining, so I'm going to need you to stay calm, alright?" She took a deep breath before nodding.

"Okay, Orpheus. I'll listen. If you say that we're somewhere safe, then I trust you. What's going on though?" That was a really good question. I freaked out big time when I first got here, but Gamer's Mind kept me able to go through everything without going insane. I needed to figure out how to tell things to Victoria without that happening to her. Well, anymore than she already was.

"Alright. Let me try and figure out how to start this. Though there's no way around _this_. We both died. Well, I died again. Those Draugr got to us and took you out. Then I summoned my Daedra and the whole chamber ended up collapsing, killing them and me as well. This place here, this is a sort of Limbo, a World-In-Between-Worlds. I've only been here once before, and when I left it, I ended up in Skyrim."

"Can't we just go back to Skyrim then?" She asked. There was a certain desperation to her words, but she still seemed to be calm. Legion training was top notch, after all. When I shook my head, she became visibly tense. "Why not?"

"Well, because I'm not actually from Tamriel, and I was sent there at random. In my world, there wasn't even magic. I died and was chosen by some god or another to be sent to your world. Now that I've died there, they want to send me somewhere else. I've got no way of knowing where or when I'll be sent to, but I was given the choice to take something with me, and I thought that I'd give you the choice to accompany me.

"There's no telling what sort of dangers I'll have to deal with, or whether we'll ever be able to get back to Tamriel. I was told that surviving until I hit a certain 'milestone' will let me travel to other worlds and be able to keep all my things intact, and so there is a slim chance that I'll be able to visit it again. You're more than welcome to say no, and you'll probably go to the afterlife in Tamriel."

What I had told to Victoria must've seemed somewhat insane, but I guess it was more believable than about 30% of Elder Scrolls lore, so she didn't immediately berate me for being mad. In fact, she seemed to visibly calm a bit. "A slim chance to return and aid my countrymen is better than what lies ahead if I were to simply die to those Draugr. At least you managed to take them down with us. I'll accompany you in your journey, Orpheus. I told you before that the life you saved from those bandits belongs to you. If you think that I can be useful, then I will be the shield at your back and the blade at your side."

"**Wonderful! It seems that that step is complete!" **Victoria immediately jumped at the Voice, quickly looking around for any danger.

"Calm down, Victoria. This is one of the… beings that is in charge of this place. I don't know where they are, only that their Voice comes from everywhere when they talk. She'll be the one to send us off after everything is taken care of." After she relaxed, I sighed. "If she can hear you, does that mean that Victoria is getting the benefits of my… Deluxe Reincarnation Program?" I wonder.

"**Deluxe Reincarnation **_**Package**_**, and no. She is a member of your party, but that does not entitle her to the full benefits of your Package. However, she will be able to accompany you on your trips so long as you choose to allow her. You may also bring her along into your Instant Dungeon, though you can do that for any being, as you apparently have already found out."** The last part she said as the sound of rustling papers filled my ears. She was probably still going through all my paperwork.

"What's an Instant Dungeon?" Victoria wondered.

"I'll explain it later, don't worry. It'll be really useful for training. Wait." I sighed. "You said I lost all of my things from the first trip, right? So, I've lost all my gacha, the couple of apps I bought, all my starter potions, my levels, everything?"

"**That would be correct! You will have to start from scratch, and without the bonuses either! However, the two of you should have no issues with this next world. It is quite a bit more relaxed in many parts of it, and you should be familiar enough with it to get by. Your companion might have a little trouble getting used to the change in her lifestyle, but I'm certain you'll guide her along."**

She typed something for a few moments before speaking again. "**Your races, starting class, and start location have already been selected based on the world you'll be in. Also, occupations are a non-issue given we're following your advice and allowing you to start your life at a much earlier point. We always try to listen to our customers, after all! And if you succeed, then we may very well have an entirely new variable to allow our customers to choose from!**

"**And don't you worry! We also won't be having you born as this world's Chosen One, as you put it. It wouldn't work with your companion anyways! So, instead, we'll have you two born somewhere else. You'll still be able to experience all the wonderful parts of what you may know of the world though! Get as involved as you like! We'll be interested in viewing the data on how your actions affected the outcom.!"**

"Are you going to at least tell me what I can expect in this world before I get sent there?" I finally ask. The sugary sweet act is getting old really fast.

"**Expect your acceptance letters in mail, you're off for a magical adventure!" **She didn't actually answer, but I just knew what she meant. Well, it shouldn't be as lethal as Skyrim, at least.

**And that's it!**

**I usually don't change my A/Ns, but it seems necessary at this point. This chapter exists because I had technical difficulties and lost all of my spreadsheets, meaning that the Skyrim part of the story was absolutely unsalvageable. Yes, it's unfortunate. Yes, I wish I didn't have such terrible luck. However, it was somewhat out of my control and it was either this, or abandoning the story completely for a rewrite. So, you know, this seemed like the better of the two options.  
**

**Anywho! Make sure you let me know your thoughts! Reviews are nice, but I also accept PMs.  
**

**I've also got a Pat-reon, over at Pat-reon-dot-com-slash-orpheuskidwell**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	14. Chapter XIV: A Whole New World

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Okay! So, I haven't done a pre-story A/N in a while, but last chapter garnered some reactions that made me feel as if I needed to. Especially since people don't respond to their PMs.  
Anywho, I kinda fucked up and forgot to back-up my spreadsheets, which led a bad situation. I could either rewrite the story completely, or send him off to another world as a stop-gap. I ended up choosing the latter, obviously.**

**Also, to the questions about the Ebony Blade, it simply wouldn't work in a world without Mephala since a Daedric Artifacts power is tied to the existence of its respective Daedra.**

**With that out of the way, here you go!**

**Chapter XIV: A Brand New World**

The emptiness gave way to fleeting darkness for a moment. Opening my eyes, I surveyed my new surroundings. There were no enemies, no soldiers, and no trees this time. I didn't expect there to be. Instead, I sat up in a bed much softer than I'd been used to these last few weeks. Pressing my palm into it, I could feel the cushioning tense up a bit. It was a right and proper modern mattress. It seemed I was back in the modern day. Well, maybe.

Thinking about it, I was very satisfied to see a calendar pop up in menu form. There was even a highlighted square to tell me which day it was: July 24, 1992. I was almost entirely sure of which universe I'd popped into, but now I needed to check. So, I manifested my Status Screen.

**Name: Orpheus Malfoy**

**Age: 11**

**Level: 1**

**Race: Wizard (Norman)**

**Class: Mage**

**Sub-Class: Sorcerer (1/100)**

**Occupation: Student**

**HP: 110 (3.6/min)**

**MP: 105 (1/sec)**

**STR: 8**

**DEX: 9**

**CON: 8**

**INT: 16**

**WIS: 12**

**CHA: 9**

**LCK: 6**

Right off the bat, I noticed some… very interesting things. First of all, how had I managed to become a Malfoy? I asked not to be a Chosen One and now I'm related to one of the antagonists? That's fine. I could figure out a way to make this work. The Malfoy family was quite powerful, anyways.

Focusing up, the next thing I noted was my race and sub-class. I expected Wizard as my race. I was already pretty sure I'd ended up in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and this all but confirmed it. But the Sorcerer subclass was far more interesting though. Let's see if I could use Observe on it.

**Sorcerer (Mage Subclass): Magical by birth, mana radiates from your form and is attracted to your being. Sorcerer's are highly magically potent and may use all manner of spellcraft. They are less specialized than other types of Mages, but with a few unique abilities of their own to make up for it.**

**Accidental Magic: A passive skill which causes high-level spells, otherwise impossible to use, to activate in high-stress situations for 1% of the mana cost. It is uncontrollable, but will generally have a desirable effect.**

**Magical Blood: A unique passive skill for Sorcerers. This allows them to brute force their way into learning magic they don't naturally have through training. More complex spells require a suitable focus.**

**Wandless Magic (Novice): The art of using magic without wands is natural to Sorcerers, even if foci such as wands and staves make things more efficient. You are capable of the barest amounts of this.**

**Wanded Magic (Novice): The art of channeling magic through a focus in order to increase a spell's efficiency. You are capable of doing this without blowing yourself up, if only just.**

I wasn't really expecting anything too powerful this time, but not even a single offensive spell to use for grinding? Well, looks like I wasn't going to be visiting the Instant Dungeon anytime soon. Wait, where was my Instant Dungeon skill?

"**After a recent board meeting, it was determined that starting Players with Instant Dungeon was too much of an advantage and caused balance issues. Do not worry though! You will receive it once more at a later date!"**

Oh boy, that would really put a dent in my ability to grind. Now I'd have to actually… go out and find things to fight. Still, it _should _be fine, right?

Shaking those thoughts from my head, I dismissed the various menus and actually looked around the room. Frankly, it was almost disappointingly normal. It definitely wasn't as posh as I'd expected with a name like Malfoy.

The bed was a lot better than anything I'd had in Skyrim, but nothing special by modern standards. The frame was just a normal wooden head and footboard, each made up of several vertical slats connected to a horizontal one. Glancing at the floor, I noticed it was light blue tile and the walls were white. A dresser sat in one corner with a television set of all things atop it. It was really old looking, one of those large boxes that were ridiculously heavy. There was even what looked like a Super Nintendo connected to it. Two doors sat on the opposite side of my bed.

The one on the left was open and, based on the clothes, I figured it was my closet. Clearly the other one, which was closed, led to the rest of the house. I'd have to go explore that later, but this room was just too… odd. Hanging from the walls were posters of moving Quidditch players and muggle television shows I recognized from my childhood like TaleSpin and He-Man. I would say I felt old but… I was technically only 11.

This was all kinds of weird since Magical Britain didn't allow muggle paraphernalia so far as I knew. Even if they did, there's no way the Malfoys would allow one of their children to partake in the same entertainment as them. Thinking about it, I wasn't even certain that something like He-Man aired in the UK. Just what was going on?

My thoughts were interrupted quite suddenly when the door on the right burst open. That was not quite literal, but it may as well have been as a girl slammed my door open, her blue eyes immediately locking on to me.

She looked to be about my age, well my new age. Auburn hair was bound in a loose ponytail that ran several inches past her shoulders. And even then she wore a short-sleeved shirt and jeans, with whatever skin I could actually see sporting a light tan. Somehow, I knew who this was already.

**Name: Victoria Malfoy**

**Reputation: 100/100**

**Age: 11**

**Level: 1**

**Race: Wizard (Norman)**

**Class: Mage**

**Sub-Class: Sorcerer (1/100)**

**Occupation: Student**

**HP: 111**

**MP: 105**

**STR: 10**

**DEX: 12**

**CON: 14**

**INT: 12**

**WIS: 14**

**CHA: 10**

**LCK: 8**

"Hello, Victoria." I greeted her while finally getting out the bed. When I called her name, the tenseness in her body seemed to dissipate. "I'm sure you've got all kinds of questions about this place. I know a little about this universe, though not much about the specific place we are. I can't even be certain where we are just yet."

"You're right about that. There's… so much about this place that I don't know about. I can deal with things being a bit different, but I felt… something off from this direction. I can't explain it… but it felt like I was worried, but I also wasn't, and it was something to do with this room."

**Reputation with Victoria Malfoy maxed out. Rewards gained: Two to Tango, Empathic Link**

**[Two to Tango]: Your Reputation with Twins increases faster.**

**[Empathic Link]: Magical twins are rare and have a special ability unique to them. They can feel each other's emotions in times of great distress. With practice, this link can be strengthened for various purposes.**

I didn't even have a chance to wonder what she was talking about before I got the notifications. Quickly scanning through them, I smiled at her. "Don't worry about it, Victoria. It seems that the god from before decided to give us a little gift. It's an empathic link. Basically, we can feel each other's emotions when we're stressed. I guess I'm usually so calm that even the small amount of confusion I had just now was enough to trigger it."

She still seemed confused, but just nodded. "What can you tell me about this world? It's… strange." Well, that was likely an enormous understatement.

"Okay, well magic exists in this world in a different way from the one we just left. Instead of simply training for it, there exists a small part of the population who can perform magic. A long time ago, these people existed alongside those who couldn't. However, due to some abuses by the much larger, non-magical population, they went into hiding. We happen to be born with magic and must keep it hidden from those who can't use it, or risk all kinds of terrible things."

"Do not worry, Orpheus. I shall run my blade through any who attempt to bring harm to you." She seemed to ponder her new form for a moment. "I need to get a dagger until I'm able to hold a blade again, it seems. No matter, a knife may kill just as readily as a sword, and this form should allow me to get in close to any enemies of yours without them becoming suspicious."

I was torn between appreciation and fear in that moment. Ultimately, I just decided that I had made the correct choice and decided not to get on Victoria's bad side. "I'll find you some sort of weapon you can use, even with that body." I assure her. "For now, I need to find out exactly where we are. I know the date and that tells me a lot about what we can do. I also think I know what country we're in. However, if I'm right, then the city is extremely important to know. This place is probably close to the entire size of Tamriel on its own. I can't be too sure, but that sounds right."

Victoria's eyes visibly widened. "What sort of Empire have we been born into then? For it to have such scale, it surely must be grand in military and economic might." I couldn't help but chuckle, nodding.

"Well, yeah. We're in the greatest country to ever exist in my world, the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, the United States of America. I can't be too sure about what it's like in this world, but back where I'm from it's the strongest nation in the world. I'll have to tell you more about it later, but this is a bit more important."

My twin nodded and followed after me. There were no smartphones, computers were much lower grade, and MapQuest likely hadn't even launched yet. I'd have to be a tad more analog about this if I wanted to get answers without seeming suspicious.

Exiting the room, I was greeted by a long hallway. Both directions seemed to go on for a ways, with doors lining them. So, my room seemed to be a bit of a misdirection. This wasn't just a normal, middle-class house. It would be really nice if I had some money so I could just buy an app for this. Or… wait. Do I have a map?

As if waiting for a command, a screen popped up. I hummed in thought and turned around. "Is something the matter, Orpheus?" Victoria wondered. I shook my head and made my way back to the bed. Taking a seat, I saw that the map showed my room from a top-down perspective, with a marker representing both Victoria and myself.

"There's nothing wrong. See, that god gave me a couple of… spells I can use that give me an advantage over others. I thought I was going to have to locate a piece of mail to get the address, but apparently I've got a map I can use. I don't think you can see it, but I should be able to figure things out."

"Ah, so it's a scrying spell. I've had to rely on the Legion's mages more than once, and I've become somewhat familiar with the concept. I'll leave it to you." Focusing on the map, I see if I can make it zoom out. I'm pleasantly surprised when it follows my direction.

First it zooms out to the house, then the neighborhood, then I can see various streets. None of them have any names though. Even as I zoom out further, the names of cities don't pop up. The marker that represents Victoria and myself is still visible though. If we really are in America, then I should definitely be able to figure out roughly where we are.

It doesn't actually take that much for me to start taking guesses. I see a peninsula that's vaguely familiar, then I see a gulf, and a sea. "We're definitely in Louisiana. It looks like… New Orleans, if I had to guess. I've lived near here before, but never in this city. Well, hopefully it's not too dangerous since Katrina hasn't hit yet."

"New Orleans? Katrina?" Victoria's confusion seems only to have grown, and it would likely only get worse as things progressed. I really was going to have to teach her as much about the world as I could possibly manage.

"So… America is divided into 50 provinces we call States. New Orleans is a major trade port in one of these States, and in about 15 years – assuming I remember correctly – a large storm is going to hit it and destroy large parts of it. When they try rebuilding… uh… well, lots of terrible stuff goes on. That's neither here nor there though. We probably won't be here at the time. This does help quite a bit though."

"I still don't quite understand everything, but I'll trust in your judgment. What should we do now though? I'm quite unfamiliar with this world and you seem to not know that much about this area in this version of it."

I shrugged. "I guess we better meet our parents, right? Hopefully they don't notice anything different, but there's really no way to tell how we should act. Best we can do is just be ourselves. Well… maybe you shouldn't be so quick to make threats."

"They are promises, not threats." Victoria immediately responded. She paused a moment before nodding. "However, you are correct. I will do my best to keep calm." I stood up once more, but couldn't help thinking that Victoria seemed a bit… different from before.

"**You would be correct in that assessment! Given the differing rules of universes, we try to allow objects that transfer to keep some measure of ability while following the rules of the new universe. This is not always possible however, such as with certain divine artifacts tied to the powers of gods that exist in one world and not another. This has the consequence of giving people without Gamer's Mind some slight… personality changes. Your companion is somewhere between her true self and that of Victoria Malfoy. It should dissipate with time, however, as she experiences the world and gains new insight into what sort of person she is!"**

These assholes just can't resist fucking with people's heads, huh? Well, if she'll turn back to normal after some time, then I guess it'll turn out fine. Not like there's anything I can do or any point in telling her. She's keeping her cool, but there's only so much someone can go through without snapping. And I'd prefer to keep that event from happening as long as possible.

With the map up and zoomed to the local map level, I was able to find the kitchen easily enough. I didn't have to eat or drink anything, but I wasn't sure Victoria was under any such exclusions, something to test later perhaps, and I didn't have my clock app. So that was one thing I'd need to get some money collected for and fix. Hopefully our parents would either be there, or get there soon.

Down the hall, we descended a flight of stairs and ended up in what appeared to be a parlor. I ignored that for the moment and turned left, which found us in the dining room. A man sat at the end of the table, whom I assumed was our father.

**Name: Marcus Malfoy**

**Title: The Enchanter**

**Reputation: 30/100**

**Age: 75**

**Level: 684**

**Race: Wizard (Norman)**

**Class: Mage**

**Sub-Class: Sorcerer (100/100), White Magician (100/100), Black Magician (100/100), Blood Magician (29/100), Alchemist (100/100), Potion Brewer (100/100), Potion Master (36/100), Runecrafter (100/100), Runemaster (19/100)**

**Occupation: Potion Master**

**HP: 7536**

**MP: 3776**

**STR: 47**

**DEX: 194**

**CON: 86**

**INT: 146**

**WIS: 208**

**CHA: 148**

**LCK: 96**

Holy shit, our dad is loaded out! I really wouldn't want to get on his bad side. And I really, really hope he's not some sort of Dark Lord that I'm going to have to defeat. Well, the way he's looking at us when he finally notices we've arrived puts my mind at ease a little.

He looked to be only in his late twenties, despite what the system said, with the same blonde hair that made Lucius and Draco so recognizable, and a pair of blue eyes and the signature ivory skin tone of the Malfoy family. That was actually quite impressive considering how terribly hot Louisiana was on a good day. As opposed to what I had grown used to with my knowledge of Magical Britain, he was wearing a suit and tie that gave him this look right out of the 1920s, especially paired with the cigar in his hand.

"Ah, good morning you two. I hope you slept well. Your mother almost has breakfast ready, so go ahead and take your seats." Victoria seemed a bit pensive, but followed my lead, taking a seat next to me at the table, which had eight seats. Did I have other siblings, maybe? Or perhaps other relatives lived here. I'd have to figure that out.

"Morning, dad." I replied with a feigned drowsiness, as if I had just woken up. As we got seated, he put his cigar out in a floating ashtray, leaving it there as it levitated off somewhere else in the house. I noticed the paper set on the table in front of him. The only thing I could read was the headline proclaiming Nicolas Flamel dead, at over 600 years old. So, the Philosopher's Stone stuff just happened.

Just how detached from the main cast was I? Let's see, born into a foreign country to a branch of the family of an antagonist a year after most of the main cast. Am I even going to be able to go to Hogwarts? I don't know anything about the American school. "Oh, before I forget. There were a couple of letters that came in for you two." He said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Letters?" Victoria asked. Now, I knew for a fact she knew what letters were, so I had to assume she was trying to play the part and not be so quiet. Marcus nodded, pulling out a wand from inside his suit. With a wave and a flick, a couple of letters bearing the iconic Hogwarts' seal appeared in front of each of us.

"I knew that Hogwarts was going to try and send for you two just as they did with your older siblings, so the choice is ultimately up to you. We got your letters from Ilvermorny last week, remember?"

I tried my best attempt at making my eyes light up with realization. "Oh, right. Why is Hogwarts sending letters for us again?" I wondered. "I thought you were supposed to go to the school closest to you." Marcus nodded.

"That's usually true, but your mother attended Hogwarts and was quite the student. I believe they're trying to extend the invitation to her children in the hopes that one of you will say yes and turn out as talented as her. I'm more surprised at the lack of letters from Beauxbatons. We've been getting those for generations, but they suddenly just stopped coming with my kids."

Beauxbatons? If I recall, the Malfoy _were _originally from France. Things were starting to piece together a bit, I think. Clearly, Marcus was American. He had a pretty distinct accent that I recognized from all my time in the Deep South. Our mother was apparently from the UK or Ireland, based on what he said. If what he'd said was true, then one of my ancestors had excelled at Beauxbatons. Perhaps this was a Malfoy line that went to America instead of England for some reason? I'd have to look into some stuff.

Victoria had already opened her letter, so I dispensed with worrying about family history and did the same. The letter itself was basically identical – so far as I could recall – to the one in the Philosopher's Stone book and movie. I think the letters were supposed to go out around your eleventh birthday, so that means that our birthday was probably not that long ago.

As I finished mine, I noted that Victoria was looking at me with a mixture of emotions. I'd have to figure out exactly what was wrong. "I think it could be fun to go to mom's school." I said, trying to contain myself. Clearly, I wasn't doing a very good job based on Marcus' chuckle.

"Trying to get out from under Jason and Julia's shadows, huh? Well, I can't say I blame you. I'm sure that your mother will be quite pleased to hear that. She's been hoping one of you would choose Hogwarts. Better get your things packed up."

Just then, several plates hovered out of the kitchen and found their way to the table. Walking out of the kitchen was a pretty redhead with blue eyes, wearing a blue dress that fell all the way to her ankles. "What's this I hear about packing up? Did they decide where to go, then?" Her accent wasn't heavily British, but I could still recognize it, if barely.

**Name: Elizabeth Malfoy**

**Reputation: 30/100**

**Age: 64**

**Level: 572**

**Race: Wizard (Anglo-Saxon)**

**Class: Mage**

**Sub-Class: Sorcerer (100/100), Light Magician (100/100), Charms Adept (100/100), Charmsmaster (100/100), Transfigurist (100/100), Mental Magician (72/100),**

**Occupation: Professional Duelist**

**HP: 6308**

**MP: 3192**

**STR: 48**

**DEX: 126**

**CON: 84**

**INT: 157**

**WIS: 143**

**CHA: 129**

**LCK: 94**

"Orpheus seems to want to go to Hogwarts. Victoria hasn't said anything yet, but knowing her, she's going to follow right after him." When they looked at her, she nodded. "I'll get Perry to pack their things after we eat. The shop can wait that long, I think. You're more familiar with what they'll need to do for that school, so why don't you be the one to take them to London?"

Elizabeth's lips broke out into an enormous grin. "Oh, there's so much back home I can't wait to show you two. Well, we won't have quite as long as I'd like, but I'm sure we'll find the time to do something fun!" She took her seat across from Marcus at the other end of the table, absolutely glowing with excitement. "I'll secure a portkey to my family's home and we'll just stay there for the week, it should all be ready in the morning."

Gamer's Mind was having to work quite hard to keep me in my usual calm state at this point. My family was… turning out to be pretty strange. I could handle American Malfoys with muggle tech. I could handle family members with levels so high it boggled the mind. I could even handle the murderous little sister – twin, technically, I guess, but whatever. What was with these two parents in a seemingly healthy relationship who seemed to genuinely care for their children though? That was the most fantastical part of my entire experience up until now – including my short time in Skyrim.

I somehow managed to get myself together by focusing on the food. Honestly, losing myself in some good, old-fashioned Southern cooking was nice. Despite being British, my new mother seemed to have gotten the hand on the regional cuisine. Scrambled eggs, hash browns and sausage bits atop a crispy biscuit, all smothered in white gravy is what the morning held for me. Despite not needing to eat, I enjoyed every bite of it. Nothing in Skyrim really compared to this. Based on the speed at which Victoria was eating, I'd wager she felt similarly.

"My, my. The food won't be disappearing on you, Vicky. There's no reason to eat so quickly, you'll get an upset stomach." Somehow, the genuine concern of Elizabeth had the ruthless soldier I'd grown so accustomed to blushing and apologizing. Could this get any more strange, I wonder?

**And that's it!**

**Makes sure to tell me your thoughts in the reviews, via PM or over on the server at Discord-dot-gg-slash-PWDD44v**

**I also have a Pat-reon over at pat-reon-dot-com-slash-orpheuskidwell**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	15. Chapter XV: A Little History

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter XV: A Little History**

Breakfast proceeded without incident, thankfully. Our father finished first. Well, technically Victoria finished first, but she got a second helping. When Marcus was done, however, he called out for the Perry person he'd mentioned earlier.

With a soft _pop, _a small, brown creature I easily recognized as a House Elf appeared. "Ah, there you are, Perry." He greeted. "We will be leaving for London tomorrow, so I'll need you to get Orpheus's and Victoria's bags packed. They'll be going to Hogwarts for the year, so keep that in mind."

"Yessir." Perry spoke in a thick accent. "Does Masta needs anythin' else?"

"That will be all, Perry. Thank you." The Elf nodded once and bowed before leaving with another, louder _pop_. "I'm going to have to head to the shop, but I should be able to go with you to London for the weekend. Can you arrange my return portkey when you get the one to those colorful old isles, dear?"

Elizabeth nodded with a smile. "Of course." She then looked at us, seeing our plates were empty. "Why don't you two head outside so I can get things prepared? I've got some packing and some paperwork to do, but don't let me put a dent in your fun. You'll only have a short while longer to be free of schoolwork, after all."

"Okay. Come on, Vicky." I told her as the empty plates floated off to the kitchen, where I assumed they'd wash themselves. This world's magic was so convenient. She followed after me without a word while I followed the map to the front door.

"Can we trust them?" Victoria wondered after we got far enough away that she probably couldn't be heard. I thought about that for a moment. Could we?

"With some things, I think. It's for the best if no one knows where we came from. All kinds of issues could pop up if the wrong people found out we were from a different world." I whispered back. "I don't think they intend us any harm though. When we go off to Hogwarts, we'll have plenty of time to try and learn how to defend ourselves to some extent. I've got some ideas on how to do so without anyone prying, but it might take some time."

"Do you really think that gaining power in secret is that important?" She wondered as I opened the front door and we stepped outside. She halted her step as she laid her eyes on the property.

Emerald green spread before us so far in every direction that there was no telling where it ended. It was broken up every now and again by enormous trees with blue and pink leaves. All manner of animal, both mundane and magical, could be seen as well. There, a group of pixies flew by. There a deer was grazing. There sat a stone gargoyle atop the roof, looking around with wings twitching every so often.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed even more things in the yard. There was an enormous Venus Fly Trap that easily dwarfed a Jeep in terms of the size of its open jaw. Further away, I could make out what appeared to be a forest of overgrown mushrooms that had to be at least 50 feet tall. Several large greenhouses were visible in the distance, though looking in that direction for too long was sure to blind me.

As I watched, the Flytrap snapped its maw with enough force that I could hear it from what had to be at least 300 feet away, consuming a number of crows that meandered too closely. The deer that I thought was just a mundane creature extended its neck a good six feet – until it looked more like a brown giraffe – to take a bite of some of those blue leaves. This place was certainly worthy of exploration, when I found the time.

A second glance at Victoria tells me that she's not reveling in the beauty, but searching for danger. "It's alright, Victoria. So far as I can tell, we're safe here." She looked at me a moment before sighing. "This world has its share of dangers, but it's a lot safer than Tamriel. Don't worry." She still doesn't seem to have loosened up at all though.

Remembering something I used to do with my little sisters, I placed my hand atop her head with a smile. "Come on, Vicky. I wouldn't lead you astray." Somehow, that seemed to relieve the visible tension in her body. "Let's do a little exploring. We won't be here too long, but there might be something useful here I can store away for later." She nodded and followed after me.

"While we look for… whatever it is you think we'll find, I think it might be a good idea for you to tell me as much about this world as you can remember." I shrugged, but decided to do just that.

"Well, like I said, this place isn't nearly as dangerous as Tamriel. Especially not in the places that we'll be until our education is over. Still, it may not be a bad idea to get as prepared as possible. If you'd like, I can see about getting you a new sword, even if spellcraft is the primary means of combat amongst Wizards and Muggles tend to rely on guns."

Victoria didn't even have to ask the question before I began explaining. "So, this world has sort of a behind the veil thing going on. Muggles, well No-Maj's over here in America, are those born without the ability to use magic. They run the world, basically. It looks like we're either really far from Muggle society right now, or hidden behind some sort of Charm."

I reached up to one of the lower branches on one of those blue-leaved trees, activating my inventory as I did so. To my great amusement, a section of it exactly the length I wanted was sheared clean off. I'd have to keep that in mind for later. Manifesting it from where my inventory stored things, I bent it a bit to test the strength before Observing it.

**Blue Oak (**_**Quercus Caerulum) **_**Branch: A branch taken from a Blue Oak tree at the Malfoy Estate. The leaves have healing properties and are used for certain potions, the bark acts as a mild insecticide when crushed into powder and the wood itself is quite sturdy. The trees themselves are highly sought after in the Magical World for their beneficial properties, especially amongst alchemists and potion-masters.**

I stored it back in my inventory, my interest more than a little piqued. I decided I should get back to Victoria though, who was sitting beneath the tree and waiting patiently. She probably assumed I was trying to figure out where to go next. I knelt across from her, deciding to try out something with my inventory.

Dragging my finger across the grass, I began making crude drawings in the dirt by storing the grass that I touched. I'd never been very artistic, but hopefully it would be enough. "The Muggles have done ridiculous things in this world that might put even the Dwemer to shame." I continue as I draw a car. "An American by the name of Henry Ford revolutionized travel by making it affordable for anyone to purchase a carriage that runs on oil, which we call cars for short.

"Before him, two battling geniuses by the names of Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla invented little glass bulbs which could light up whole rooms without fire." Light-bulbs were at least easier to draw. "The muggles even have revolutionized warfare to the degree that they could probably kill the entire Aldmeri Dominion without any magic of their own through firearms and explosives."

I wasn't as knowledgeable about either of those things as I probably should be, but they were important subjects to explain to her so that she was careful around Muggles even without magic. I chose to just depict a Glock 9 and an AK-47 as the most generic handgun and automatic rifle I could think of off the top of my head.

"Explosions aren't a new concept, so I don't think I need to explain those. However, I don't think anything even close to guns exist in Tamriel. These devices basically launch small metal projectiles so quickly that they can go _through _concrete or stone walls, let alone people. Other countries are varied in terms of ownership, but America is well-known for having an enormous number of civilians owning them. It's best to assume that any Muggle you meet is capable of killing you from any distance even if they don't seem imposing, intelligent, or intimidating, in America at least."

"Why would all Muggles not want to defend themselves with something so powerful?" Victoria wondered. I had to do my best not to make a snarky comment on their idiocy.

"America is unique in that it has guaranteed its citizenry the right to own the means to fight against abuses, whether from other civilians or even its own government. I may be a tad biased in my assessment, but I think it's because other countries simply can't imagine giving that kind of power to their citizens and it makes politicians… nervous.

"Oh, that's another thing. There aren't really any Kings or Emperors in this world. None with actual power, anyways. The most important positions of power are voted for by the citizens in each area."

"Most civilians are idiots though," Victoria replied, immediately finding the largest criticism of democracy in all of its existence. "Actually, a lot of soldiers are too. Most people in general, now that I think on it. Why would the world do something like that?"

"Well, it's mostly because America was founded by rebels under an abusive monarch, so they were drawn to a different sort of governmental system. Then we became the most powerful nation in the world and sort of imposed it on other nations. There was also the Cold War which… I'm not certain if it's actually over yet. That's very off-topic though, I haven't even gotten into Wizarding society, though I can only speak for Magical Britain."

"I know we are in another world, but this Breton you speak of, is it like High Rock?" There was a slight pronunciation in Victoria's words. It was subtle, but easy to catch.

"Not Breton, Britain. Great Britain, or the United Kingdom, is the nation we'll be going to. I'm… not that well-versed in things regarding High Rock or the Bretons – besides their mixed ancestry and affinity for magic." If only there was a way to show my screens to Victoria. It would make things so much easier.

"**Why didn't you say so sooner?" **The Voice interrupted me. "**If you form a party with one of your Companions with at least 100 Reputation, then you can share a select number of things with them. They will not gain access to any of your Systems themselves though. We used to allow that but… Players would just grind their Companions into invulnerability and create a warband that nothing could hope to stand against."**

Well, that might be what I'm looking for, I suppose. Thinking about sending Victoria a party invite, I note the way that she jumps to her feet. I can see the menu that must've frightened her. "Calm down, Vicky. I'm trying to help things move along a bit with one of my spells, but it requires your consent. Do you see the blue symbol: the checkmark? Just press your finger on that."

She still seemed a bit hesitant, but followed my directions. When she did, her eyes seemed to immediately shoot to the upper left. Her hand seemed to be trying to grab something that wasn't there, as well. Based on my own vision, I could tell she was trying to see what the health bars that just popped up were.

At the top was a box that had my name – with a star next to it – and level, along with HP and MP bars. Just below that was a similar one with Victoria's information. "Vicky, don't worry. The boxes you see are just visual representations of how much longer we can fight. You see that red one? That will go down if you become hurt. The blue bar goes down each time you use a spell."

"I see." She stopped her frantic actions, sitting down. Clearly, she was still a bit agitated, so I decided to move on. I grazed my hand over the empty patches where I'd made my 'art', watching as the stored grass rooted itself back in the dirt as if nothing had happened before standing. Sitting next to her, I pulled open my map, zooming it out to the global view.

"You see these arrows right here? These are you and I." I noticed that America now had its national and state borders showing, which it hadn't before.

"**The System recognizes memories and knowledge as you express it, either through thoughts or conversation. Your map, and other aspects of the System, will fill in either as you pick up extra knowledge or as you express knowledge you already had. It's a new sub-routine we've been working on, so make sure to give us useful data!"**

As I thought about it wanting to emphasize America, it became a solid blue as opposed to the sienna everything else on the map was. "This here is the United States of America. We're kind of like… the Empire of this world at this time. It's not really a great analogy if you dig too deeply, but it kind of works." Mexico then filled in green, while Canada filled in red. "These are our neighboring nations, Canada and Mexico. I'll have to explain more about them later, because they're kind of important."

The oceans then filled in a lighter shade of blue than America was as I had the map zoom into the UK – which became red – and Ireland – which became green. "This red country over here is Great Britain. That green one is Ireland and used to be under their control, but the UK isn't really the best at keeping control of territory. They never really have been. We actually used to be vassals under them, but broke free about 200 years ago due to their tyrant King."

"That sounds like the Nords in Skyrim to me." Victoria muttered, though I could still hear it. I gave her a look, though she didn't seem apologetic.

"Religion was a factor in our own Revolution, but not nearly as significant as with Skyrim. What you must understand is that we were being ruled by a King on an entirely different continent, whom refused to acknowledge our right to representation. We were expected to be called upon in war, to fill the ranks, to pay our taxes, but not given the same rights that other citizens of the nation were. Our grievances could have been easily recognized, but he ignored them.

"Honestly, George Washington – he's regarded as the Founder of our Nation, since he was the primary leader of the Revolution and our first President – might be closer to Tiber Septim than anything. America was actually thirteen separate micro-nations before the Revolution. Well, they were called colonies, but they were distinct. Washington managed to bring the men of each one together and fight off the most militarily powerful nation in the world at the time – with a little help from their rivals – to craft a country all our own."

I shook my head and sighed. "Enough about that though. The past is the past, and cannot be altered. I am as loyal to my country as you are to the Empire." Now, where was I? Oh, right.

"Back on topic, this here is London," I say, pointing to the general area of where I recall London to be. As I watch, a dot denoting its location appears, with the name right above it. "We'll be using a Portkey to head there tomorrow. Portkeys are like… imagine an enchanted object that will teleport you somewhere very specific at a certain time. So, we'll be using one to go across the ocean and get there. I'm not sure exactly where we'll end up, since I don't know what family our mother is from."

"Where is Hogwarts?" I start humming in thought, trying to think if I actually know _where _it is. Was it ever stated exactly?

"I'm not entirely sure." I finally admit, zooming in on Scotland. "It's somewhere in this area, but there are spells keeping its location secret to the extent it can't even be placed on a map. Other spells ensure that when a Muggle lays eyes on it, they think it's simply an abandoned castle and have a strong desire to do something else."

"That sounds like powerful magic. Are many places that secure? Or is Hogwarts special? It sounds like the sort of thing that you'd put on a very important facility that you assumed would be a target."

"I only know so much about its history, but yeah, they did think it would be a target." I thought about something and watched as all the border on the map disappeared, as well as the colors. "It's right around a thousand years old, if my memory serves. At one point in time, Wizards and Muggles lived alongside each other, you see. We had something kind of like the Empire a very long time ago, the Roman Empire."

As I spoke, Italy turned a bright shade of red, with the color spreading into France, Spain, the Balkans and further until the borders mimicked that of the Roman Empire at its height. "In this world, one of the most famous empires in all of our history conquered vast swathes of their neighbors through employing magical soldiers. Well, no, I think it's more accurate to say that through the invention of the wand, they were able to do that."

"What happened to them? I can see that part of Britain was under this Empire's control, but now it's part of the country we'll be going to tomorrow, right?"

"Uh… well, when an Empire grows too large, then it becomes bloated in corruption. Rome overextended itself. Though it lasted for over a thousand years, it was doomed to destruction. I can't show you right now, but when I get the chance I'll have to find the similarities between them and Tamriel's Empire to show you.

"I suppose one of the more relevant aspects of their fall might've been that at some point they turned on the very group that helped them expand. The punishment for witchcraft very soon became to be burned at the stake after Rome dispensed with their native religion in favor of a more… organized faith. Things are more secular now, but there are still parts of the world where magic is likely to end with the Muggles trying to kill you."

Several regions on the map were colored in black as I spoke – large swathes of the Middle East, Communist China, the former USSR and certain sections of Sub-Saharan Africa. I wasn't entirely sure where one might be executed for Witchcraft, but those seemed the most likely. Victoria nodded. "I certainly appreciate your lesson on this world's history, but is there anything else you can explain to me about things at present?" She wondered.

"Ah, my bad. I can go on for hours about the past, so I'll try to focus more clearly on what's important. So, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a seven-year program where we'll learn everything we need to succeed in the Wizarding World. A lot of their curriculum will be centered on Magical Britain, but that doesn't mean we won't be able to use it wherever we go.

"The important thing to remember is that we aren't normal Magicals, nor are we going to end up in a normal, day-day occupation after we graduate. I haven't exactly decided what I want us to do after we're done with school, but I'm working on that. Whatever I end up deciding, we need to become as magically powerful as we can."

"Of course, Orpheus. I will do my best to ensure I am able to keep you safe, no matter which road this life takes us down. What are the things we'll be learning?"

"Well, if I remember correctly, this year will give us lessons on Potions, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Flying, Magical History, and Transfiguration. I don't think I need to explain History or Potions, but the rest probably deserves at least a slight summary.

"Magical Britain's government is kind of… incompetent and idiotic, so they categorize essentially all magic which has a primarily offensive function as Dark Magic. We'll learn about those spells, as well as how to counter them in Defense. Any magic which changes the form of an object from one thing to another is Transfiguration. Most other types of magic are categorized as Charms.

"Herbology is the study of magical plants, like these trees here." When I said that, I pulled the branch from my inventory. "This Blue Oak, for instance. Its leaves can be used to make a healing salve or mixed with other things to create a healing potion. Its bark can be ground up and used to kill insects." Storing it back up, I continue. "I'm sure there are all kinds of interesting flora on the estate, but I don't want to explore too much since we're leaving tomorrow.

"Lastly is Flying. That's pretty simple. In this world, the Magicals have enchanted broomsticks to be able to fly. The class is to teach us how to control the broomstick well enough that we won't crash. Of course, there are other things that can be enchanted to fly, but broomsticks are the most common."

"That's just nonsensical. Witches flying on broomsticks is a children's story and nothing more. You're just joking, right?" When my stare didn't waver, she sighed. "It seems there's a lot more about this world to learn than I originally thought."

"More than you could possibly know," I said, thinking over things with a sigh. "Honestly, history is kind of my passion, but I haven't even touched on a vast array of issues. I have… well, basically a week to get you caught up on eleven years of experience. Luckily, we're both children and we'll be foreigners, so there's plenty of time to get you acquainted once we actually get to the school."

"Then, why don't you just start with the most important things?" Victoria asked. She was being really patient with me, and I was definitely a rambler. Thankfully, she seemed to have gotten a lot calmer since I began my little lecture, so I was hoping I could keep that going long enough for her to get used to the world.

"Okay, well, for one, Magicals are really powerful. They don't have as many high-level spells as back in Tamriel, but that's not really the point. There are _so _many different types of spells that each Wizard or Witch is well-equipped for any situation. They also, if I remember right, have an average lifespan of about 200 years or so. However, immortality is very possible to attain on top of that. Just about the only thing that keeps the magicals from becoming veritable gods is that most of them are lazy."

Victoria thought about what I said a moment before pursing her lips. "Are you saying that each and every Magical could potentially… do what Talos did?" I thought a moment, before shaking my head. "Oh, thank the Divines."

"When I say become gods, I don't necessarily mean they could inject themselves into the very fabric of reality as forces of nature. I mean that they could become physical forces so powerful that nothing could stop them besides someone else on their level. I don't know much about the high-level spells available to masters of their field, but even the lowest level abilities are so ridiculous that it renders the very notion of logic obsolete."

Victoria was quiet. "Then how do we ensure we can stay alive? How do I ensure I can protect you?" There was more than a little distress in her voice, more than a sprinkle of desperation.

"Because we're going to attain those levels ourselves." I point out, watching as her eyes widen. "I told you. Wizards are lazy. They're content to just float on, let the tides carry them where they will. We're going to become Masters, we're going to become Gods. I'm not going to die again if I can help it, and I'm not going to let you die either. I worked too hard to get everything I had before and lost it all in an instant. I had plans in Skyrim, and they were dashed because of a mild difficulty spike. Never again. In this fucked up game I've been thrown into, I'm going to win. Not the System. Not the gods that sent me here. It's going to be me that comes out on top, and nothing will stop me from that."

**And that's it!**

**A bit slow, but I'm trying to do some set-up here. I'm thinking next chapter will be set in Magical Britain, but who knows?**

**Anyways, don't forget to let me know what you think! Reviews and PMs are both nice. Also, you can drop by my server at Discord-dot-gg-slash-PWDD44v**

**I also have a pat-reon: pat-reon-dot-com-slash-orpheuskidwell (updates for the last three chapters have been so fast because my Patrons have been commissioning me, big thanks to them)**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	16. Chapter XVI: Exploration

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter XVI: Exploration**

A full moon hung over the Malfoy Estate, bathing the entire property in a silvery light. Many of the creatures that roamed the grounds were asleep. The denizens of the house should have been resting as well, but I just couldn't help myself. I really wanted to check out a few things. Victoria was still asleep and I assumed my parents also would be.

I opened my window and hopped down, hitting the ground with a _thud_, nearly falling over. Thankfully, I was able to keep my balance and looked around. This place looked so different at night! I could see a rather large eclipse of moths, probably a hundred in number, resting on one of the Blue Oaks, their wings glowing silver. They all flew up in a swarm not a moment after I noticed them though, as a raccoon appeared on the tree.

It's not as if it had been hiding or anything. It wasn't there one moment and then it was, as if it had been invisible or something. The creature did seem quite happy to munch on the moth it had caught, eyes meeting mine for a moment. I just watched for a second, but then decided to go on my way. Luckily, my window faced the place I wanted to go. Even more luckily, it was quite impossible for me to get lost.

Even from this distance, even as dark as it was, the Mushroom Forest that my father had cultivated was easily visible thanks to the fungi's own bioluminescence – theirs green instead of silver. I walked in that direction, digging the flashlight I kept in my room out of my pocket so I could go explore. Though I wasn't supposed to go over there, father had said, I was far too curious to see what I could find!

Waiting to turn it on until after the house was out of sight. Once I did, I could only marvel at all the sights. I'd have to come out at night more often. There were beetles that turned to solid rock as I shined light on them, monkeys with two tails, owls that seemed to be made of wood perched on branches, and looking for prey and so many other things that I couldn't even begin to take in on my way.

After some minutes, I noticed that raccoon from earlier walking beside me. Stopping, I looked down at it, while it just looked up at me. "Hey there little guy." It gave me a blank stare. "Girl?" The raccoon seemed to become visibly happier. I wasn't sure how I could tell, but there seemed to be a little more emotion in its eyes, a slight twitch of the tail, things like that.

"What are you doing out here, huh?" I wondered. Grabbing the backpack I'd taken with me, I rustled through it and found one of the snacks I'd brought so I didn't get hungry. Raccoons like granola bars, right?

Opening it up and handing it to her, I watched as she greedily consumed it. It was kind of mesmerizing to see, but only lasted a couple minutes. I'd already shut my bag and gotten it back on by the time she was done. "You wanna come with me?" I asked. Obviously I didn't get an answer, but I didn't expect one, so I continued my journey with a new friend in tow as I headed out.

It wasn't long thereafter that we reached the very edge of my destination. Welcoming us were a pair of very thin, white stalks that looked almost like an entrance. Up, up, and further up were their caps, probably a full 200 feet above. Just the sheer size of them was amazing. They easily dwarfed almost every tree on the entire property.

Through the welcoming stalks I went, looking around. I could see slugs of all things moving up and down wider stalks of brown mushrooms about as tall as the Blue Oaks. Ants marched in long trails through the forest – on the ground, up the stalks, everywhere. There was even one red stalk about as two feet in diameter with ants walking up it in six spiraling trails. Whatever was in that one's cap must've been quite delicious.

Looking down, I saw my raccoon friend was still following me, also looking around. I didn't understand what dad was going on about. This place was cool! There were a lot of bugs that Vicky and mom probably wouldn't like, but who cares?

As I continued, I felt this… strange sense of foreboding. It sort of felt like I was being watched, but I couldn't quite place why. Looking around, I tried to see if there was anything bigger than those slugs in my general vicinity. Besides my new raccoon friend, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Perhaps it was just the atmosphere. As much as I think this place is cool, it's deathly quiet. There aren't any birds or flying insects to create background noise, and it was probably causing me to feel a tad on edge when the only sounds are my own footsteps. Even the raccoon's paws made no noise on the grass.

I had to take a moment to collect myself before pressing forward. There was nothing here. There was nothing to worry about. Flashlight pointed forward, I headed deeper into the Forest. That feeling of creepiness really started to creep in as I noted an enormous web between two large mushroom stalks, a spider the size of a wolf lying in wait. Quite swiftly, I decided to give that thing a wide berth.

Straying from the main path, I found other things that started to give me an idea of why this place was forbidden. Condors with glowing, green eyes were looking down from smaller mushrooms, eyeing any potential meals. There was a lake that, when I shone my light on it, began rippling menacingly. I don't know what was in there, but I didn't stick around to find out.

Eventually, I find myself in an open area. No animals, no lakes and not even any mushrooms exist here. Well, for the most part that's true. In the very center is… it looks like a grizzly bear of all things.

Approaching it, I notice that it's not asleep. It appears to be dead. Several large stalks are protruding from its back, with a large, white mass of fungi growing out of its head. It's almost like a tumor. Large chunks of its stomach seem to be missing fur, with the flesh underneath halfway rotted away. There are patches like that all over its body, actually. Its claws were long and black, though coated in what looked like dried blood.

Stepping closer to it, I could feel a strange, burning sensation in my nostrils. The stench was really strong, but I wanted to get a closer look. When I got within a few feet, I stopped. That… tumor of fungi on its head started to pulse. It was a strange sight to behold, since it didn't all pulse at the same time. It was slightly off-sync so that each of the five large growths were moving just a second apart.

More importantly, the bear's eyes _opened_ and looked right at me. It went from lying on the ground to on its feet in a little less than two seconds, roaring loudly at me. I wanted to run, but my feet wouldn't move no matter how hard I tried. The thing seemed to _smell _my fear and rushed forward. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as I saw those dagger-like claws coming right for my face.

"_Reducto!_" A streak of blue light sped over my head and hit the bear directly between the eyes, causing its head to explode, splattering me in copious amounts of blood and brain matter. The rest of its body was sent flying into a nearby stalk, causing the whole mushroom to fall to the forest floor.

I turned around slowly to see who had saved me, expecting a furious father or my angry mother. Instead, it was my older sister! "Amelia?" Amelia was tall for a girl, probably somewhere around five and a half feet, with our father's blonde hair tied into a tight bun and the family's blue eyes. I immediately turned away. "Why are you naked?"

After a moment, she spoke. "Ah, forgot about that. Hold on a moment." She spoke some spell I didn't recognize the words of. "Okay, there we are. It's only a temporary Transfiguration, but it should be fine." I turned around and noted that she was wearing a plain white dress now. "Now, what in the hell do you think you were doing?"

"Uh… I wanted to see what was here…" I said rather shyly, knowing full well I shouldn't have been here. "Wait… what are you doing here?" I wondered, confused as to why my sister was naked in the Mushroom Forest she also wasn't supposed to be in.

"Uh… well you see… don't try and turn this around on me!" I just looked at her. "Fine! Well, I guess you won't tell since we'd both get in trouble. Come here though, let me get that stuff off of you." A flick of her wrist and Amelia sprayed the gunk off of my face, another and I was dry. "That Raccoon you saw? That was me. I managed to find out how to become an Animagi, but I haven't registered with MACUSA yet, so you can't tell anyone, alright?" I nodded. "Good. Let's get back home then. And don't come back here. This place is way too dangerous for you."

I was about to argue when I suddenly felt a headache coming on. I shut my eyes in pain…

**[][][]**

When I reopened them, I was staring up at the ceiling in my room. Slowly sitting up, I placed my hand over my head and looked around. Was that all a dream?

An ear-shattering roar to my left had me turn so quickly I thought I might break my neck, that same undead bear from earlier standing in my room and jumping at me. Right as it was about to land on me, it disappeared from existence.

**Status [Post-Traumatic Stress Hallucination] nullified by [Gamer's Mind]**

"What in the fucking hell is going on, System? Why am I having hallucinations?" I demand. Somehow, I remember that there are other people asleep and manage to say it in only a very indignant whisper, instead of yelling it. After a moment, I can hear that sugary sweet voice again.

"**Ah, I thought I forgot to mention something! Yes! Now, what you just experienced was not a dream, but a memory of the shell you're inhabiting. You didn't spawn out of thin air, like in the last world. I believe that particular memory was from… where is it? Ah, here we are: July 22 of last year. The file was marked as extremely important, so we used that for the first memory."**

"First memory? What do you mean by that? I'm going to have _more?"_ It all felt so real, like it was actually me. Those thoughts didn't feel foreign at all. Looking back on them now, I can see that they weren't mine, but in that moment it was organic.

"**Each night, in fact! We didn't want to off-load all of the memories onto you and your companion at once, so this compromise was found. It is a lot slower, so it might be the case that you act a bit out of character, so to speak, around those that your shell once knew, but it should be fine."**

"Companion? You mean Victoria has to deal with this as well? I'll have to talk to her later about it, let her know what's going on. This place is definitely more dangerous than I first thought though, if that sort of thing was so close to the house, relatively speaking. Anything else you want to tell me?"

"**Hm… nope! I do believe that's everything! If I think of anything, I will definitely let you know though! Good luck!"**

I couldn't help but sigh and shake my head. Well, it looked like the Sun was just barely creeping out from the horizon. If it was already dawn, there was no use in attempting to sleep longer, especially since I only actually needed a half hour of rest. What would I do in the meantime, though?

Well, if nothing else, the dream did show me that exploration was a viable option. It was probably for the best if I stayed inside the house though. So, what better way to figure things out than to bring up my map?

As I did so, I noticed a few things. First off, Marcus and Elizabeth were now on the map. Their markers were adjacent and in the same room down the hall past Victoria's. That must be their bedroom.

Secondly, some of the rooms were labeled now. The kitchen, Victoria's room and my own room had labels. As I watched, my parents' room also had a label materialize. There were plenty of other rooms to explore though. I didn't know what I wanted to find, but surely there was something interesting that wouldn't get me killed.

However, there was actually a decent chance that I wouldn't come back to my room before we left, so I decided to get into some real clothes. With that done, I entered the hallway with one eye on my map to make sure no one else moved.

I decided to take a left towards the front room. When I reached it, three paths lay before me. One was to go back into the hall, another was to go towards the kitchen and dining room. The most interesting, however, was a set of stairs directly before the front door. That was clearly the best option.

As much as I'd like to get to the top of the flight as quickly as possible, I was smarter than that. I made sure to test each wooden step before I put my full weight on it, making sure none of them were squeaky. It was far from the first time I'd been the first one awake in the house and I was probably going to get into something I had no business in.

Whenever both my feet were at the top of the stairs, the entire layout of the map changed. I hadn't gone up here yet, so I didn't realize that the map changed based on which floor you were on. That was actually pretty cool. It was currently oriented with me at the bottom, and a little stair icon with an arrow pointed downward. Next to the icon were the markers denoting Victoria, Marcus and Elizabeth.

Based on the map, there were four rooms on each side of this hallway before it opened up into T-intersection. Actually, based on the map, this house was enormous. I counted over 30 rooms on this floor, with an additional four sets of stairs. Despite my initial opinion, I suppose Marcus really was fit to be a Malfoy.

Looking over the layout of this floor, most of the rooms were either small enough to be closets or a little larger than my room. However, there was one room at the center of the house that took up something like 60% of the floor's space. Halls surrounded it on every side, with three other T-intersections that led to their own stairs, as well as a stairwell inside the center of the large room. That seemed like the best place to start.

If I had just an extra day or two, I probably would have explored the rest of the house and not just the big room, though. Each room I passed by seemed interesting. Some rooms were glowing various colors behind the doors. Others were giving off strange noises.

I'd already come to a decision though. So, with that in mind, I made my way to a pair of double doors at the end of the hall. They opened inward without a sound as I turned the knob, and my eyes widened.

Books! There were shelves and shelves of thick tomes from floor to ceiling. The room itself was enormous as well. It was circular and probably had a diameter of a couple hundred feet. Those bookshelves lined every wall. At the very center, a spiral staircase led upstairs. Scattered around the library were various chairs and tables, quills with inkwells and stationary in neat piles.

Curiously, I walked to the spiral staircase and looked up. Amazingly, it kept going up further than I could see. Did Marcus have that many books? Just how wealthy was this family? Actually, just what _did _Marcus do? Was he an enchanter? A Potionmaster? A Dark Wizard?

Elizabeth was clearly a duelist, based on her classes. Marcus' classes were a bit more vague though. What kind of profession required Blood Magic? That seemed like it would be _excessively_, or at least potentially, Black Magic, not just Dark Magic.

Well, Magical America was probably quite different from Magical Britain. Perhaps that sort of thing was more common. I think that there was a movie that was supposed to have taken place in America, but I never really got a chance to watch it before I died. Hopefully it wasn't too important.

There wasn't really any point in worrying over that though. Most importantly was that I had an unknown amount of time before we had to go and a functionally infinite number of books to find anything useful within. Since I couldn't grind, this was the next best bet I had to find _any _advantage over my future peers.

So, I decided to start looking through the books near the door I came through first. There had to be something useful, right? Well, that entirely depended on what it is I wanted. What did I want?

I thought about it a moment, recalling my starting skills. If I understood Magical Blood correctly, I should be able to pick up skills without having to rely on the clusters I obtained every 5 levels.

"**Oh! I remembered something I was supposed to tell you now!" **I could feel myself approaching a faint echo of seething rage the moment I heard her voice before it disappeared. I was never really good at holding grudges, but purposefully fucking with my emotions after I've gone my whole life without them was a good way to get me started. It's fine. It's fine. What I needed was to stay cool right now.

"Okay, what is it?" I wondered as I continued browsing the spines. Well, I gave off the image I was doing that, anyways. My brain was trying to be angry, while some interdimensional entity kept it from doing so. It was more than a little distracting.

"**Right! So, certain classes don't actually give you skill clusters every few levels. Most of the Mage classes native to this world are like that, such as the Sorcerer Class you've currently got equipped. Actually, essentially any class that would be affected by Magical Blood won't give you free Skills on level-up."**

I could hear the Voice humming for a moment. "**Actually, that's not quite true. Classes affected by Magical Blood will give certain passive Skills that unlock the ability to use active Skills, or make them easier. So, you can expect to get notifications for those at various points. To be fair though, those passive skills **_**can **_**be learned via study because of how Magical Blood works. Actually, that seems like a potential balance issue that I should bring up at the next meeting."**

Oh, great. It's just one thing after another. Okay, there shouldn't be anything quite as life-threatening here as there was in Skyrim, so I could handle a slightly higher difficulty floor in my leveling. Once I get a couple good spells, I should be more than capable of grinding quickly, even without my Instant Dungeon.

Thinking more on it, I actually don't mind this system that much. The previous one meant that I had knowledge forcefully shoved into my mind. This one meant that I had to learn the theory associated with each magic and build up. That led to the possibility of making my own Skills eventually.

Yeah, this could work out just fine to my advantage. _I_ get to choose which Skills to focus on. _I_ get to pick up Skills faster than once every five levels. _I_ get to choose the pace at which I progress, instead of the System giving me four Skills that may or may not actually be useful. _I_ think I might enjoy this particular system even more than the previous one, despite being less convenient.

Now more comfortable with my situation, I turned back to looking over the multitude of books at my disposal. I had a significant issue in that I didn't know how long I had and also that I couldn't really take these books. It was one thing to swipe a potion or two from a shop. They wouldn't notice it. It was another thing altogether to steal a single book from the library of a man whom I still wasn't entirely sure wouldn't kill me.

I really needed to get some memories of Marcus so I understood better where I stood with him, and where he stood regarding the boy I took control of. Because honestly, I didn't really know… well, anything, about this Orpheus besides the dream from last night. At least Victoria got a little leeway with the hybridization of her Skyrim self and her Wizarding World self.

Perhaps I only needed to last a week or so though. It was probably for the best that I spend as little time as was possible around my parents. After a year at Hogwarts, any changes could be assumed to be from my new environment, so I shouldn't have to worry anymore. At least, I really hoped that was the case.

All this worrying did me absolutely no good though. I needed to focus. I wasn't even properly reading the titles of these books. How could I hope to learn anything if I was this anxious? And just where was my Gamer's Mind to keep me calm?

"**Oops, my bad!" **The Voice piped in. I could feel my nerves settling even as she said that. "**Doing a bit of multitasking right now. You would **_**not **_**believe the workload that my predecessor left for me! So much to do and so little time! Do carry on though!"**

Shaking my head, I could feel that familiar calm return as I walked around the library. This was much better. I wasn't stressfully worrying over things I couldn't rightfully be expected to control. With my focus back, I was able to actually get something done.

"Let's see here. _The Afro-Caribbean Blood Rituals_, _Blood Rites of the Aztecs_, _Essays on Edward Teach's Use of Ritual Magic, _this is definitely not something I want just yet." I decided to ignore everything on that bookshelf. Blood Magic was not where I wanted to start this journey.

The next bookshelf contained things like _Ethics of Legilimency, Basics of Occlumency _and _Magical Meditations_. Mind Magic was definitely an interesting topic I'd like to explore, but I also did not want to trap myself in my own mind or become traumatized by whatever I might see when looking into the minds of a bunch of pubescent teenagers. My every waking moment would be spent trying to block out the thoughts of teenagers lusting after each other.

_The Yeti Wars of 1837-1854, The Night of Terror, _and _Studies on the Jersey Devil_ told me that the next bookshelf was about Magical Creatures. A quick skimming of them and I realized all three were about American Creatures. The first detailed a war between Wizards and the various classes of Creatures categorized as Yetis – Bigfoot, Abominable Snowman, Wendigos, things like that – in the forests of western Canada. The second was about a colony in 17th century America whom had been slaughtered to the last by a roaming group of Dementors. Apparently it was also the third case of mass Obliviation in what would later become the Thirteen Colonies. The last one was simply a research paper on the Jersey Devil.

Finally, I managed to come across something that would help me after eight bookshelves. _Wandless Charms: An Introduction _sounded exactly like what I wanted. Opening it up, I couldn't help but grin. The table of contents was full of all sorts of things, but two in particular piqued my interest. Looks like I was going to learn how to wandlessly cast the Summoning and Banishing Charms.

It was time to grind.

**And that's it!**

**Make sure to let me know your thoughts in a review, via PM (I check them every day, I swear) or over on the Discord server at Discord-dot-gg-slash-PWDD44v**

**I've also got a pat-reon now, if you really like what I do. pat-reon-dot-com-slash-orpheuskidwell**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	17. Chapter XVII: Lessons Learned

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter XVII: Lessons Learned**

"_Accio!"_ The moment that the words left my mouth, a satisfied grin formed on my lips. The tome I had been perusing for a couple hours or so left the table I'd set it on and traveled right into my extended hand. I held its spine, looking over the leather back for any visible damage.

When I was satisfied with my inspection, I turned back towards the bookshelf it came from, looking for an open slot to return it to. "_Depulso!" _All my practice seemed to pay off as it went straight into the spot on the bookshelf it came from.

**[Summoning Charm – **"_**Accio"**_**] Basic Proficiency gained.**

**[Banishing Charm – **"_**Depulso"**_**] Basic Proficiency gained.**

**[Summoning Charm – **"_**Accio"**_**]: A spell used to bring objects to the caster. Anything within line of sight can easily be brought forth. Objects out of sight require a command naming the object and a clear picture in one's mind to bring it forth. Buildings and living things cannot be Summoned with it directly.**

**[Banishing Charm – **"_**Depulso"**_**]: A spell used to send objects away from the caster. It can only affect things within the caster's line of sight and will send them in a straight line from the point of casting. It can affect people.**

Hey, what's this about, Voice? This has to be related to my Magical Blood skill, right?

"**Why yes, of course!" **She responded enthusiastically. "**It is exactly as you say. Magical Blood allows a form of skill creation, as I've explained before. I'm sure you noticed when you read through about those two skills that you received the [Summoning Charm – **"_**Accio"]**_ **Theory and [Banishing Charm – **"_**Depulso"**_**] Theory, correct?**

Yeah, basically as soon as I finished the passages on them I got those screens. I think I've still got them somewhere around here. Opening my skill menu, I spot them.

**[Summoning Charm – **"_**Accio"**_**] Theory: You understand the basic concepts of what the Summoning Charm is supposed to do, but need some practice to actually understand how it works.**

**[Banishing Charm – **"_**Repulso"**_**] Theory: You understand the basic concepts of what the Banishing Charm is supposed to do, but need some practice to actually understand how it works.**

"**Yep, those ones exactly! You see, each active skill you create through this process has several stages of development: Theory, Practice, Proficiency, Expertise and Mastery. Obviously Theory is attained by learning about the skill. Some skills, however, will require obtaining several pieces of theory to properly be able to practice it.**

"**Practice, I'm sure you've figured out, is the process by which you put your knowledge of a subject to use in an effort to understand how to apply it. When you've gained a sufficient level of both theory and practice, you've attained proficiency, the bare minimum necessary to successfully utilize your new ability without fear of failure.**

"**Expertise and Mastery are a bit more involved, however. Different skills will take a different amount of active use and creative thinking to properly become an expert or master in. Our developers are playing around with a few options that would help streamline this process, but for now you should just use your skills you'd like to master in creative ways."**

Oh boy, more experimental systems for me to test out. It's exactly what I always wanted. Well, I can't complain too much, I guess. My whole job description right now is basically science experiments with magic. Of which, the only permanent downside was potentially exploding myself, and I've already died twice. What else was there to lose?

Thanks to a clock hanging on one of the walls, I noted that it was already 7 AM. I'd noticed the sun rising steadily as I practiced, but I didn't realize I'd been here so long. I flexed my fingers a bit as I thought about what to do. Technically, I'd accomplished what I set out to do. Summoning and Banishing were amazingly modular starting skills, and something simple enough I could probably teach to Victoria.

Actually, she might even find it more useful than me, considering I doubt her close quarters combat focus was going to disappear due to something as trivial as reincarnation. Either way, I was hoping to instill it into her before we started classes. We wouldn't be able to use our wands for a quarter of the next seven years, and that was a major handicap I just didn't want to deal with. Better to just get an early start on wandless studies now to circumvent it.

Looking around the study, I couldn't help but feel some measure of regret. I wasn't going to be able to exploit all the knowledge here for a long time. Based on Marcus' classes, he was likely to have some very… interesting tomes here. The sort of stuff that belongs in the Restricted section at Hogwarts, by my estimation.

All in due time. Nothing particularly major should be happening that would affect me for quite some time. Sure, the Chamber of Secrets was going to open this year and a basilisk would roam around the school, but I'm sure I could just adjust events to make things a normal year with a little… finagling. As normal a year as Hogwarts can have with Harry attending, anyways.

Leaving the study, a thought did occur to me though. I hadn't actually planned what I would do about the so-called Golden Trio while attending the school. I hadn't put any thought at all to how I would interact with all the children there, actually. A lack of preparation had ended with my 'angered the Dungeon Master' style death just a couple days ago, so that was definitely a mistake. Clearly, I needed to do more than just grind up Skills if I wanted to have a chance at surviving.

So, now I had to add 'become a sociopathic manipulator' to my lengthening to-do list. There was so much to do, but I did, hopefully, have several years in which to do it in. Thankfully, everything revolves around Harry, more or less. And he was going to succeed according to prophecy. There was very little danger to me if I kept a low profile.

_That wouldn't make for a very interesting adventure though. _I couldn't help but think. _Would the System really allow me to lay low and not worry about things until after the Battle of Hogwarts was over?_ The thought was… well, not quite terrifying, but it might be if my emotions weren't dulled under the metaphysical equivalent of enough morphine to put down Alduin. If there was one upside, though, it did allow me to focus more completely on my plans.

Sighing as I descended the stairwell, I looked over my map and grinned. The rest of the family was still asleep. Perfect. I wouldn't have to explain what I was doing out of bed so early. Though, it did seem that Victoria was already awake based on how her marker was moving about her room. I should probably go talk to her since our parents were still sleeping.

Walking past my own room, I slowed a bit as I heard… what was that? It was difficult to make out until I got closer to the door. I double-checked just to ensure that Victoria was alone in her room. There was no mistaking it, on the other side of the door were muffled sobs. Opening the door quietly, I looked inside to see my 'twin'.

She didn't seem to have noticed me just yet as she paced around the room, one hand over her mouth, while the other was wrapped around her stomach. Using Observe, I noted that she was suffering from the 'PTSD' status that Gamer's Mind nullified for me. Shutting the door behind me, I decided to break the silence. "Victoria?" I called out quietly. "Are you alright?"

She stopped mid-step, her whole body stiffening as my voice must have registered."H-hello, Orpheus." Her voice quivered in a way I hadn't heard since I first found her chained to that wall. "I am… fine." Quickly, her tone turned cold and unshakable, like I was more used to.

"Victoria, did you dream something?" I asked. "The… Gods that placed us here informed me this morning that we would receive the memories of our host bodies through dreams. I had one last night that… scared me when I woke up." Until my metaphysical morphine kicked in, anyways.

I could hear Victoria inhale sharply when I mentioned dreams, then sigh a bit when I mentioned the bit about it being memories of the bodies we were in. "I see. This girl… did not have the best of luck then. It seems that we have more in common than just our names."

"What do you mean?" I wondered as she turned to face me. Her eyes were puffed up and bloodshot, but it seemed that whatever tears she had shed were done flowing. "Victoria? What did you see?"

My insistence broke her of whatever introspection she'd been involved in. "I was… young. Younger than I am now. I can't imagine that I was any older than 8 or 9. It was dark… and hot. I remember being so thirsty. The air was so muggy and I was sweating even before _they_ came.

"They were… they looked like Redguards, but by the Nine I swear they must've been Daedra in disguise!" Victoria wrapped her arms around herself tightly, shivering. "They smelled just awful, of smoke and drugs and _evil_." I couldn't help but wonder what evil smelled like, but I dared not interrupt as she stepped closer to me.

"Orpheus… I've never felt so defenseless. I tried to scream, but the only people that would hear me were more of those Daedra wearing disguises of Manflesh. I could have sworn I was captured by a cult of Molag Bol, and then they… they… disrobed." Tears once more gathered in Victoria's eyes as she continued.

She stayed still, but I couldn't help myself. Closing the distance, I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight. Logically speaking, I knew this woman was a warrior who had killed more men and elves than I likely could conceptualize, either directly or by her command. In my mind, I understood how strong she was and that, if circumstances were different, she probably would've added my name to that list. In fact, my name _was _added to that list until Alduin showed up.

But at the same time, all I could see was a girl in despair at having been gangraped _twice_ in two different incarnations. A girl that, biologically speaking, was my own flesh and blood, my twin sister. So, even as I held her tight, rubbing her back softly and ensuring her that everything would be okay, that she was safe now, that metaphysical morphine drip wasn't enough to dampen the sheer rage I felt just then. I could feel it lessening, but even an echo of the anger I felt in that moment was enough to outshine the Sun.

Victoria, for her part, gripped tightly onto me. I couldn't even imagine being in her shoes at this moment. Ever since she met me, her life had fallen apart so magnificently that it must've been divine intervention. In a sick way, it kind of was. "Are there a lot of people like that?" The words hung in the air after she'd finally found a break in her tears, my shoulder now soaked in her grief.

"Too many to count." I relayed after a moment. "Magicals and Muggles… it doesn't matter. This sort of evil exists all over the planet. This world is similar to the one which I grew up on, except there was no magic there. Victoria, the one from before we arrived, probably was kidnapped by some sort of gang that dipped into sex trafficking… capturing young girls and women and selling them off to the highest bidder as sex slaves.

"They're not dissimilar to the bandits of your world… I suppose. If your bandits were in every major city across Tamriel and were part of a black market so extensive that even if every member of the Imperial Army was involved in investigating it they'd still be outnumbered by the criminals." I sighed. "We need to get strong… strong enough that we never have to be in danger of living out our fears again. So strong that neither muggle nor magical government can threaten us."

As I spoke, Victoria tightened her grip, holding me closer. "There was… one part of the dream that was good." She revealed. "Our parents and a girl I didn't recognize showed up right at the end. Those men… there wasn't even red stains left of them by the time Marcus was finished. Then they left the room, and our mother stayed. I could hear… lots of men screaming before I passed out in the dream, then woke up here."

"That's sort of like what happened in my dream. I was in danger and our sister, Amelia, saved me from this weird undead bear with mushrooms growing out of its head. Then I passed out in the dream and woke up here. Wait, you didn't see any hallucinations of those men when you woke up, did you?"

Victoria shook her head against my chest, still holding tightly onto me. "No, but I could… still feel them… inside." She shivered violently, so I started stroking her hair softly. "Orpheus… I want my sword. I want my shield. I want my armor back." Her nails dug into my back. "This body is so weak. How am I supposed to protect myself, let alone you, without them?"

"Don't worry, Vicky." I say with a smile. "Here, let me show you what I learned this morning." After a moment of hesitation, she let go and stepped back. Looking around, I spotted a doll on the floor. "_Accio._" I called out and watched as it flew across the room into my hand. "_Depulso._" It then flew back across the room and settled atop her dresser, neatly sitting down.

It was a bit difficult to tell because of the bags under her eyes and the puffy eyelids, but Victoria's eyes definitely widened as I showed it to her. "That's this world's magic? And you learned that in only a few hours?"

"Got it in one." I congratulate her. "Thanks to the… Blessings I've received from those Gods, I can learn things faster than other people, but I also have a good idea on how to teach it to other people. On top of that, using the spells usually requires a wand. If I can teach you how to use them wandlessly, then that's something no one in Britain will expect from a kid."

My twin slowly nodded before her lips curled into a grin. "How does it work then?" Once again, Victoria's eyes had dried up. This time, though, she was completely and utterly focused.

"Well the first spell, _Accio_, can bring anything to you that you can visualize, even if you can't see it." I explained. "You can't summon people, but objects move so quickly that they can pass through walls. The second one, _Depulso_, sends things away from you. You have to have line of sight with your target to use it though. It's a little difficult to pick up the timing and power at first, but I'm confident that I can teach them both to you before we start at Hogwarts next week."

She nodded. "Will we be able to do that at our mother's estate?" She wondered. "Based on the fact that you got up so early to do this, I imagine that you didn't want anyone in the house to know? You always did like your sleep back in our time in Skyrim."

"Yeah, you've got it right again. I'd prefer us to keep this little ability a secret from as many people as we can. Even our own family. As the saying goes, 'Two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead.' I don't expect you to go blabbing about our abilities since you know just how important an edge surprise can give you in battle. With that in mind, keeping the people that know about it as close to two as possible for as long as possible should be our main goal right now."

"Of course, Orpheus." Completely gone was that fragile girl who I'd been in the room with a moment ago. Now, Victoria was all business. Maybe giving her something to train would be just what she needed to distract herself from how terrible this world could be. Thinking about it, I had completely forgotten about my own dream until talking to Victoria.

My map, which I'd never minimized, had some movement just then. Turning to it, I noted that Marcus and Elizabeth were moving in their room. "It looks like our parents are finally getting up though." I closed the map then, seeing no need to keep it open any longer. "I don't know if we'll end up eating breakfast now, or after we take the portkey. Either way, we should get you… presentable."

Victoria tilted her head in confusion. A head whose hair was all over the place, and whose eyes had clearly just been crying. Luckily, I'd already gotten ready. So, I decided to open Victoria's closet and pick out something that wouldn't leave a bad impression. Based on the lack of skirts and dresses, it seemed that the old Victoria (or was it the young one?) was quite the tomboy. In that case, a simple blue shirt and jeans would do.

I left the closet and placed them in her hands before opening the dresser and tossing her literally the first pair of underwear I could find. "Okay, I'm going to go find… something to fix your hair with in the bathroom. Go ahead and get dressed."

"I am a soldier of the Imperial Army, not a child! You don't have to tell me that!" She exclaimed indignantly.

"And I'm the Last Dragonborn. I don't want to give a bad impression to our extended family. Wizards are a strange bunch and place a lot of emphasis on appearances. Therefore, it's in our best interest that they not think ill of us, that way we can move around the estate without anyone trying to watch us for fear we might break or steal something."

Victoria didn't say anything else, but she did turn her nose up a bit and give a rather audible 'Hmph!' in response to my reasoning before I left the room. Oh well, nothing my own sisters haven't done before when I was responsible for getting them in their Sunday Best. Compared to them, a soldier of the Imperial Army was nothing.

**And that's it!**

**In case you lot missed the email yesterday, I've finally returned once more with a long list of commissions to do, motivation to get them done and finally the time in which to actually get them done. Fingers crossed, anyways.**

**With that in mind, thank Gamer_James27 for today's update, your commission is most appreciated.**

**Make sure to let me know what you thought in a review or via PM! I also have a Pat-reon now over at pat-reon-dot-com-slash-orpheuskidwell**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	18. Chapter XVIII: Lord Montgomery

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter XVIII: Lord Montgomery **

As it turned out, we had foregone breakfast in lieu of taking the Portkey. Elizabeth didn't want Victoria and me to eat only to lose it in the dimensional subspace as we made our way to her family's estate. The Portkey itself was, as expected, a strange object: a kitchen sink. It did have a… strange property though. Well, it was an object of magic, so clearly it would have strange properties. I didn't really expect that it would interact so weirdly with my Gamer powers though.

Observe had… delivered a strange description. It wasn't as if the description was actually that strange, but the entire thing was delivered in some sort of runic language that I couldn't recognize. I decided not to dismiss the notification, wanting to see if I could find out what the language was later.

On top of that, when I opened my map the Portkey was on the screen. That, in itself, wasn't strange. Whenever I was zoomed in this far basically any object of a certain size would be on the screen. No, what was more strange is that it had a symbol next to it, an arch with an arrow pointing into it. Focusing on the icon, a tool-tip popped up.

**This [Portkey] leads to [The Montgomery Estate]. Local map inaccessible due to lack of information.**

"Alright you two, come on." Elizabeth gestured to Victoria and me as she placed her hand on the sink. "All you need to do is hold onto the portkey and then we'll be on our way. Hurry, hurry. It's scheduled to activate any moment now."

Victoria and I quickly followed her directions, but I noted that Perry was nowhere to be seen. As I understood it, he'd already gone ahead of us and taken our stuff to the rooms we'd be staying in. House Elf magic would never cease to amaze me. That was an enormous distance to travel and I assumed that portkey or broom were the only means to bridge that gap. Apparently, I had more to learn than I imagined.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted as the Portkey activated. I had some inkling of what to expect, but it had _no _remote similarity to what I actually experienced. I did my best to keep a tight grip on the lip of the sink, tight enough that my knuckles were turning white. Colors passed by me faster than I could perceive them, so quickly that they weren't even flashes of light, just a continuous cyclone of strobes.

We weren't actually rotating, but it felt like my entire body was spinning very rapidly. It felt as if every organ I knew of – and a few I didn't – were pressed tightly against my flesh, whilst my stomach was doing its damnedest to escape through my throat. I couldn't even move my head, but glancing over at Victoria it was clear that she was faring not much better than me.

Then it ended as quickly as it had started, and the lights slowly faded from my vision replaced only with the afternoon sky. My hands lay atop what felt like thick and damp grass. Slowly pushing myself to sit up – with an enormous amount of groaning in the process – I looked around to figure out where I was.

Victoria was next to me, still laying down though. Elizabeth was standing up with a cheerful smile on her lips as she looked around. She seemed to finally notice us on the ground, that smile quickly disappearing in lieu of a worried expression. "Oh dear! Are you two alright?"

She rushed over to us, kneeling in between her two youngest children before helping us to our feet. "I know that going through a Portkey for the first time can be quite an endeavor, so don't feel too bad! Why, my first time had me retching for so long that my mum thought I might've been expecting!"

"I'm… fine." I managed to get out, leaning heavily on Elizabeth as the world started to spin again. After a moment, everything started to stabilize and I sighed. "That was… not fun."

**[Portkey] Theory acquired!**

**[Portkey] Theory: Through some means as of yet undetermined, Portkeys are able to connect two points of space-time. More study is required to progress your understanding.**

Well, at least something good came out of this. I'd have to deal with that little epiphany later though.

Looking around where we ended up, I started to actually piece together some details. The grass was thick and bright and contrasted against the clear, blue sky. The field that we stood in was mostly open, but had a conspicuous wall of trees lining it, a phalanx of unbroken and quite ordinary looking oaks – when compared to the flora at the Malfoy Estate, that is – that was clearly fit for purpose. What purpose exactly, it was unclear.

Bringing up the map, I was able to get a better feel for the area. The trees lined a perfect square of territory, at the center of which lay a rather large building. My map wasn't exactly a satellite view though, so the buildings were just simply outlined in black on the otherwise white background.

**[Map – Satellite View] acquired!**

You know… I really need to just spend one of these nights thinking about all of the quality of life mechanics I'd like to see instead of sleeping. It's not like I actually need the rest, anyways. I just liked sleeping, but perhaps I should actually put that time to better use.

Those thoughts were interrupted as Elizabeth placed her hand on my shoulder. Focusing on her, I noted that she had done the same to Victoria on the other side. "Come now, let's go meet your grandparents, hm?"

A nod from both of us and Elizabeth walked forward. It only took a few moments for me to see what that series of buildings on my map was.

As we approached, I could see several structures, but the most impressive was centrally located at the back of the treeline. The grass actually morphed as we walked, turning into a cobblestone pathway wide enough for all three of us to walk abreast, and with enough room both behind and in front of us for three steps either way. Each time we took a step forward, it followed, staying the same length at all times..

It seemed like the pathway looked as if it was going to lead right to the front door of the central building. It stood three floors high, made of what looked like pristine marble sculpted by the winds and rain, rather than touched by man. Several pillars stood in front of its entrance, holding up a lip that extended off of the roof. Said roof held a balcony rail that was supported by small columns which extended around the entire perimeter.

The first floor windows were rather wide, and mostly rectangular except for the top where they curved to a single point, similar to Gothic arches, though it was the only thing gothic about that mansion. The second and third floor windows seemed to be much more ordinary, both smaller and perfectly rectangular. All of them were made of regular glass as well. For some reason, I'd half expected stained glass.

As the path closed the distance to the entrance, I noted that there were two ramping walkways to actually get up to it. A semi-circle of cobblestone beckoned all comers, with that same marble railing on either side of it. Those walkways were flanked on the inner curve by an assortment of shrubs bearing all manner and color of flowers, adding a dash of beauty to the otherwise bright white scenery.

In front of the shrubs, at the very center of the inner curve's area stood a rather ornate water fountain bearing a statuette of a rather muscular man holding a trident at an angle in his hand, through which water poured down into the pool below him. It was probably Poseidon or Neptune or some other similar mythological figure.

Our cobblestone path finally got to the house, connecting the two ramps that led to the entrance. Elizabeth guided us up the left path and gave us both a look as we reached the doorway. "Now, you two will be on your best behavior, won't you?"

"Of course, mother." Victoria answered firmly, sending me a look. I nodded and our 'mother' smiled in satisfaction as she turned back to the double doors. They were rather large, and made of sturdy wood by the looks of things. There were no door knobs or handles, only ornate designs across the surface with a single, brass knocker at the center and near the top of both of them. She took the one on the right side in a firm grip before rapping on the door hard.

A moment later and both doors began to creak before opening inward. "Welcome home, Lady Elizabeth. Welcome Master Orpheus and Miss Victoria." We were greeted by a house elf, and a young one by the looks of it. "The Lord Montgomery has been expecting you." With a neat little bow, he gestured for the three of us to step inside.

"Thank you, Quincy." Elizabeth replied in kind, stepping over the threshold and allowing us to follow suit on our own. "Where might my father be?" She wondered.

"The Lord Montgomery is currently awaiting all three of you on the rooftop. He wished for you to be informed that Percy is busy unpacking your things in the rooms you shall be staying in whilst here."

"Ah, very well. I think I remember the way. Orpheus and Victoria, follow me." With that, she began walking at a brisk pace, eyes forward and an aura of seriousness that I hadn't seen from her before.

I did my best to take in the sights as we moved through the mansion. Right before the door was a wide staircase that went halfway to the second floor, then split at a 90 degree angle to the left and right. Moving portraits lined the walls, while there was a marble bust at the top of the first half of the staircase.

Up through the second and third floor, it was honestly just more of the same. Portraits of men and women I didn't know, tapestries on walls I couldn't quite make out as we ascended, ornate rugs on the floor, immaculate statues and masterpiece paintings set in ornately-decorated wooden frames. I'd have to explore more later, but I just did my best to keep pace with Elizabeth at this point.

Once we hit the third floor, she took us down one of the hallways, where a door stood open at the very end. On the other side of the threshold, there was a set of stone stairs that could only lead to the roof.

Past those stairs, we found ourselves on the roof. From below, all I could really see was the railing. Up here though, it was much different than I could've thought. For one, even at the very center of the roof, I could look out and see the entire property, and the forests past it, and some of the rural countryside past one edge of the forest. I still had no idea where we were though. Not that looking at a map would help though, since my knowledge of British geography was essentially limited to knowing where London was, and the borders between each of the four nations that made up the United Kingdom.

I'd certainly have to change that, and soon.

The rooftop itself though was full of all manner of furnishings. There were eight tables set up, each one fit to seat six guests, and each table topped with a floating umbrella. There was no handle, only the umbrella top floating six feet above the table, casting it in a gentle shade and not swaying so much as an inch in the breeze.

At one of those tables, a stately-looking man who appeared to be in his fifties sat. That had to be Elizabeth's father, my maternal grandfather. His hair was largely red, though it was clearly greying along the edges. He wore it quite short, though it was still several inches long at the top, combed back, and wore a tidy three-piece suit - seeming not even a bit uncomfortable in it despite the mild Summer heat. Well, what passed for heat in England anyways. Compared to New Orleans, it was quite chilly out.

**Name: Roger Montgomery**

**Title: Lord Montgomery**

**Reputation: 15/100**

**Age: 128**

**Level: 327**

**Race: Wizard (Anglo-Saxon)**

**Class: Mage**

**Sub-Class: Sorcerer (100/100), Light Magician (100/100), Transfiguration Adept (100/100), Transfiguration Master (27/100)**

**Occupation: Noble**

**HP: 3271**

**MP: 1547**

**STR: 57**

**DEX: 101**

**CON: 42**

**INT: 184**

**WIS: 241**

**CHA: 189**

**LCK: 47**

That's… weird. Why was he so much weaker than my parents? He had a solid three decades of life over Elizabeth, and yet she essentially outstripped him in terms of classes by basically double. This definitely required some study.

"Hello father." Elizabeth stated formally as she dipped into a slight bow before him. "Thank you for letting us stay here a few days while the twins prepare for school." Stepping back, she placed her hands on our backs, pushing us forward a step. "This is Orpheus and Victoria. I believe this is the first time you've seen them since they were born."

Lord Montgomery had been sipping on a cup and reading the Daily Prophet when we showed up. He waited for Elizabeth to finish talking, placed the cup onto its matching saucer and looked up from the table at us. The man's blue eyes felt like they were piercing right into my soul, like he could see exactly where I was from, that I wasn't _actually _Orpheus Malfoy and that he was going to pry everything he could from me in exchange for keeping my secret.

That moment passed though as he gave a soft, grandfatherly smile to the two of us and stood up. "Ah, yes, Orph and Vicky, it has really been far too long since I've seen you!" He stepped over to us far faster than I thought someone over a century old should be able to, and pulled us into a tight hug. "And drop the formalities dear, it's not as if the Ministry's ears really extend here. That's just what they want to make you think."

"It's not the Ministry I'm worried about, father." Elizabeth mentioned under her breath, but smiled nonetheless. It was all I could do not to glance back at her as she said that. Clearly, I was missing some vital information, but it was best not to worry about it too much. I'd overextend myself if I tried to stretch in every direction at once, just like I did with my grinding back at Whiterun.

"Now, let me get a good look at you two." Roger knelt in front of us, so that he was on eye level. "Ah yes, just as I thought. You two bear a most striking resemblance to your mother. I'm glad to see the Montgomery genes have really come out with you two! Your siblings, they show a bit too much of those Malfoy traits for my liking. Your father is a good man, but I can't help but think of Lucius every time I see that trademark blonde hair."

"Now, now, father. Neither of them have any ideas about the politics here in Britain. On top of that, you shouldn't sour their opinions of the Malfoys before they've even got a chance to meet them. As I understand, Lucius's boy is attending Hogwarts, is he not?" Lord Montgomery paused a moment before sighing.

"Quite right. That'd be Draco, every bit his father's son, he is. For better or worse, he's doing his best to follow the legacy Lucius has set for him. That's enough about that though, why don't you all sit. Quincy!"

The same elf from earlier appeared with a loud _pop_. "Ah, there you are. Won't you bring some tea for Lizzie and her children?" He looked at his daughter with a devilish gleam in his eye. "I'll have to make sure you get more than enough proper tea to cancel out all that American drivel I'm sure Marcus has been giving you. Iced tea! I will never understand how those Yanks could get a drink so wrong!"

"It's not that bad, father." Elizabeth tried to argue as she sat. "Why don't you two sit at the table right there until Quincy brings you your drinks?" She suggested. "I've got some catching up to do with your grandfather." With a nod, I led Victoria to a table away from the adults, catching a bit of Elizabeth trying to defend southern Sweet Tea whilst Roger made his own arguments. Something told me that this was an ongoing argument that Roger had with Marcus, and that Elizabeth was simply standing in for him in his absence.

Victoria and I took our seats, well outside of range for our family to hear us. "Mother is acting strange." She suddenly muttered after we were situated. "She's not been that… stiff as far as I can remember." I leveled a gaze at the girl. "What?"

"Are you recalling more things from the other Victoria without having to dream, then?" It was a moment before she nodded. "Interesting. I suppose you don't really have any… barriers between yourself and your host body, so it makes sense. I can't help but think about that comment she made to our grandfather though. If it's not the Ministry she'd worried about, then who?"

"What Ministry?" Victoria asked, to which I merely hummed in thought. There was far too much for me to figure out, and I was not in the proper position to actually get answers.

"The Ministry of Magic is the magical government of Britain. Nominally, they swear fealty to the British Crown, but they run the country as a sort of elected oligarchy. They're not very good at their job though. Rampant corruption and bureaucratic bloat don't help matters in the slightest."

"Why would mother be afraid of them then?" That was actually a good question. This was Fudge's government, before Voldemort took over. Surely the 'official' story that Nicholas Flamel told the press would leave out any and all details regarding the return of 'He Who Must Not Be Named'.

"Hm… why indeed. The better question is why Lord Montgomery would think that's who she meant, as if they had an omnipresent surveillance system across the country. I sincerely hope that this damned system isn't messing with canon structures again."

Whatever it was that Victoria was about to say was interrupted by Quincy popping back into existence, a tray in hand. "Would Master and Miss Malfoy like any sugar in their tea?" He offered.

"That's fine, Quincy. Thank you." I responded with a smile, taking my cup gratefully and promptly setting it on the table without any intention of drinking it. "Say, Quincy, just where in Britain are we, anyways?" I wonder. Sure, I could bring up my map, but it wouldn't tell me what towns were nearby, considering I didn't have any knowledge of the geography.

"Yes, Master Orpheus. We're just due south of the muggle city of Salisbury." At what must have been a puzzled expression on my face, he expanded. "You know of the famous Stonehenge, yes?" A nod from me and he continued. "We are within 15 of your American miles from that. The Montgomery Family is tasked with protecting it from any Dark Lords that might seek to use it for rituals, as they always have been since they first arrived with King William the Conqueror."

I nodded and thanked Quincy for his time, allowing him to take Elizabeth her tea, all the while trying my best to ignore the pop-up I'd just received.

**Quest Added: [The Druids' Trials]**

**[The Druids' Trials]: Investigate the powers that lie dormant within Stonehenge.**

**Rewards: ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, [Victory Condition Fulfilled]**

**And that's it!**

**Sorry for the short delay in this chapter. My mouse ended up dying, and it's quite terrible to try typing on a laptop with an active trackpad. I managed to get this done yesterday after my new one came in though, so hopefully you lot are still with me.**

**Make sure to let me know what you thought of the chapter though! Reviews and PMs are both great, even if the PM system is basically broken since it refuses to send email notifications. Someone should really fix that.**

**Also, I've got a pat-reon over at pat-reon-dot-com-slash-orpheuskidwell**

**Orpheus out! See ya!**


	19. Chapter XIX: Aunt Cynthia

**Life is More Than a Game**

**Chapter XIX: Aunt Cynthia**

The next hour passed with little incident, though it was far slower than I would've liked. I did my best to explain the basics of the Ministry – and Parliamentary Republics in general – to Victoria while Elizabeth and Roger talked. After our mother finished her tea, she seemed to prod her father into remembering that we were here, alone, at a table with nothing to do, so he had Quincy show us to our rooms.

Percy was still busy getting everything unpacked the magical way when we got there, though, so we thought it best not to get in his way. Our possessions were zipping around at high speed and I didn't want to test whether my fragile, 11 year old body could take a hit from a bottle of shampoo at over 100 mph and survive it.

Coming to the same conclusion, Quincy instead decided to lead us back outside so that we might play - at the behest of Victoria. He did mention that our cousins were at Diagon Alley today to get their supplies and would likely be back shortly, and how unfortunate it was that we hadn't arrived this morning so that we might go with them.

As we got back to the front door, Quincy did make sure to give us a warning though. "Master and Miss Malfoy may go anywhere on the property where the doors are not locked, but please do not go past the trees. It is a type of ward to keep unwelcome guests from finding the Estate and there are all manner of spells to ensure it. If you leave the property line and try to get back in, you may end up wandering around in circles until you pass out from exhaustion if we don't get to you first."

After we promised we wouldn't, he sent us on our way with the instructions that if we needed anything, we simply needed to call out his name and he would appear to take care of it. House Elves seemed really useful. I might have to get one of my own while I was here in this universe.

However, there were more important things to deal with. "Are you quite alright, Orpheus?" It took me a moment to register the words before I turned to regard Victoria. "Since we got our tea you've seemed… worried. I don't need the empathetic link to know that, though it has been giving off this weird feeling since then."

Looking at the house, I sighed and led the way down the ramps, Victoria following closely behind me. "When Quincy was talking, something he said triggered a quest from those gods," I explained. Luckily, she was still in my party so I just opened my map as we walked and began to zoom out.

As I did, the Montgomery Estate seemed to be represented by a coat of arms – a shield split into four sections, with the upper left and lower right having a blue background, and the other two being red. On the blue sections were three golden fleur-de-lis each, while the red one held three golden rings topped by a blue gem in their sections.

North of the coat of arms was another symbol, a black diamond with a white center that represented Salisbury. Even further north of that was a symbol that looked almost like pi: Stonehenge. "You see this place right here?" I pointed to it.

"That's Stonehenge. It's an ancient structure built by the original people that inhabited this island." Thinking about it, I watched as the map changed to satellite view and zoomed in so that she could see it. "They're extremely impressive because it was built long before they could have had access to machines, or even metal tools. No one really knows what it was built for though. I'm guessing it's at an intersection of ley lines in this world though, so it's probably the perfect place to perform ritual magic."

"What was the quest that you received?" Victoria wondered. "Is there some ancient evil buried beneath it that you need to slay? An evil mage that is going to use it to gain god-like power? Perhaps something like the Oblivion Crisis on my world is going to happen using that thing as a portal?" I shook my head.

"The quests they give me are always in steps. The first step was to simply 'investigate the powers that lay dormant in Stonehenge'. Clearly, there's something there, but what exactly is beyond me. These gods are… quite malicious in leading me by the nose and never quite telling me everything I need to know unless I ask the right questions, and that's assuming that they're even allowed to answer the questions I ask."

"Is this not something that you have to do immediately then?" Victoria wondered, to which I shook my head. "Then it is best to not worry over it too much. We have much more important things to do first, to ensure that… the evil of this world does not take us by surprise."

"You're right, you're right," I admit, searching the property for something specific as I scan the satellite view of the Estate's map. "Ah, this should be fine." We'd managed to walk around the side of the main building where a large tree was situated, it's leaves barely touching the tree line.

Carved into the trunk was what appeared to be the face of a woman, looking towards the main house. She had features similar to Elizabeth, but not quite identical.

"I think it's time for your magic lessons, Victoria. Until we can get you a blade, we need to give you some sort of ability to defend yourself." Opening my inventory, I picked out an apple that I snagged from back home and tossed it to her, content when she easily caught it. "Toss it into the air, if you would."

As she did so, I held out my hand and gave the command. "_Accio, apple!"_ The apple became a red blur, shooting from the air above Victoria's head right into my palm as I caught it. "This is the Summoning Charm, _Accio_. Once you pick it up, you should be able to summon any object in the world to you, so long as you can visualize and name the object in question. Though, it does not work on people or buildings, I should warn."

"I see…" Victoria nodded as I placed the apple on one of the tree's trunks, balancing it so that it would remain where it was even with the breeze. "Is that all there is to magic in this world? Is it just simply knowing the right words and chanting them?"

"There's a little bit more to it than that," I reply while sitting on the grass under the branches of the tree. "Wand or hand motions seem to matter, from what I was reading and the bits I can recall. Also, you can eventually learn to cast spells without giving any verbal commands, which I'm going to try and learn to do myself as soon as I can."

Truth be told, as far as I was concerned, it really was just learning the right words and saying them. But I was a special case. In order to figure out exactly how things worked for normal people, like Victoria, I'd need to teach someone else to use the same spells I learned, like Victoria. Knowing the limitations of the magical system for a non-Gamer was absolutely vital if I wanted to get around in this world without dying again.

Without waiting for my command, Victoria began, calling out the spell as she focused on the apple before her. Each time she gave the command, I could see her MP bar drain, so clearly something was happening. While she was busy, this might be the best time to take care of something else. _Hey, New Voice. I've got some questions for you._

"**I am more than happy to help in any way that I can!" **It responded cheerfully. "**Just let me know what it is I can do for you!"**

_There's two main things. First off, what's up with these bodies you gave us? Victoria had to live through the same trauma twice? I had to watch as the other Orpheus nearly died? What's going on with that?_

"**Oh yes! Since you are inhabiting the body of someone you have no foreknowledge of, instead of the protagonist, we wished to find host bodies that could resonate with you on an emotional level! However, the Systems may have become confused by the recent traumatic experiences that Victoria and yourself went through and tried to make matches based on that. Hm… yes, I think I'll need to make a report to the department in charge of that. Oh well! Everything is working out fine, right?"**

Closing my eyes, it took every bit of control I had to keep from sighing even as I felt Gamer's Mind suppressing my anger. _Okay, okay. So, that's fun. We get to deal with 'similar' trauma to what we already went through. Surely that can't have any negative consequences. Can you at least tell me what this Victory Condition is that I saw as a quest reward?_

"**Oh? You already found an End Quest? That's impressive! I would love to explain that! Now, let me see how to start.**

"**Ah, yes. I'm sure you're familiar with RPGs that have multiple endings, yes? Well, it's a bit like that. Except, there are functionally innumerable endings, and they don't actually 'complete' the game, so to speak.**

"**No, it's more a case that completing one of these End Quests will re-open your Hub World, to which you can move back and forth at will with all of your stats, skills, perks, traits, etc. intact."**

_Wait, my Hub World? What do you mean by that? I've only been to Skyrim and here so far. Or, do you mean that Limbo place?_

The Voice was quiet a moment before gasping. "**Oh dear, I think there may have been a slight mix-up in all the confusion of my taking over your case! No, no, the previous world you were in **_**is **_**your Hub World. Your death required you to be sent to an Adjacent World because we felt the difficulty must have been too much for you if you died so quickly!"**

If you hadn't put me in such a terrible position and things weren't so rushed, maybe I would've stood a better chance, you Asshole Gods. _Okay, so let me see if I understand this correctly. If I complete one of these… End Quests and get the Victory Condition reward, then I can travel back to Skyrim whenever I choose?_

"**That is correct! In addition, moving to a different world will place all others that you've unlocked into an automatic 'pause' state, leaving you free to spend as much time as you please in each one without worrying over trivial things like missing important events or your plans being interrupted. For instance, the Skyrim world is currently paused at the moment of your demise, waiting for your return!"**

I couldn't help but shiver at that thought. These entities really were Gods. This was a level of reality-warping that was difficult for me to really understand. _So, do I have to do this specific End Quest that I found? _I couldn't help but wonder.

"**Not at all! As I pointed out before, there are practically limitless numbers of options for you to obtain a Victory Condition! All that is required is for you to do a single one of them. **_**However, **_**I should point out that performing one End Quest does not limit your ability to complete others! You don't even have to immediately go back to your Hub World after completing it!"**

Well, this was certainly seeming better and better. I wouldn't have to deal with whatever magic was located in Stonehenge if I didn't want to, after putting in the proper time to research, that is. These End Quests were certainly an interesting concept though, as was being able to freely travel between worlds. Though, thinking about it, the other Voice said something similar about being able to move from world to world at certain points. _So… is this basically what I'll have to deal with every time I unlock a new world and go to it from my Hub World?_

"**You're catching on very quickly! I think you'll make an excellent test subject! Yes, that is precisely the case. At various intervals, you will unlock new Worlds to explore, and to get back to your Hub World you'll need to clear a Victory Condition in that new World. I should probably point out that you cannot travel from one Adjacent World to another. You always must travel through the Hub World to get to other unlocked Worlds."**

Interesting. It might be worth it to actually stay in this world for quite some time, honestly. Sure, the Harry Potter world didn't really have the same power levels as The Elder Scrolls-verse, but that might be a good thing. If I could learn the right spells here, then use scaled-up versions of them with Magicka, that might give me just the edge I needed to actually get through Bleak Falls Barrow. What the wizards lacked in power, they made up for in utility, after all.

Perhaps dying wasn't the worst thing to happen to me. If I could play things right, then I really might be able to use this world to grind and ready myself for the massive difficulty spike that Skyrim clearly had. I just needed to find the right End Quest.

My thoughts were interrupted as I heard a loud _thwack_. Victoria was on her back, and the apple was no longer on the trunk. From the large welt on her forehead, it was pretty clear that she'd Summoned the apple and it had hit her in the face instead of going to her hand. "Are you alright?"

Victoria rubbed her forehead as she sat up. "I'm fine, Orpheus." She must've seen the look in my eyes as she recovered though. "What's wrong?"

"I didn't say that, Victoria," I replied. I knew where I heard the voice from, but there wasn't anything in that direction besides the tree.

"Of course not, I did." The woman's face carved into the tree spoke, and her tone was rather indignant as she looked upon us. "Oh, where are my manners! I am Cynthia, nice to meet the two of you. Orpheus and Victoria, yes?"

Victoria was frozen in place as she regarded the tree, apple in hand. Her knuckles were turning white from how tightly she gripped the fruit. "Yes, that's right. We're Lord Montgomery's grandchildren. Do you know him?"

The face chuckled a bit and nodded. As she did, the sound of the tree's bark stretching and contracting was… more than a little unsettling. "You might say that, yes. Roger is… I suppose you could call him my father. Perhaps that makes you my niece and nephew!" Cynthia giggled at such a thing.

"I'm… a bit confused. Are you a Magical Creature?" I wondered while quickly using Observe on her. It had a strange result though.

**Name: Cynthia Montgomery**

**Title: The Dryad**

**Reputation:**

**Age: ?**

**Level: ?**

**Race: Homunculus**

**Class: ?**

**Sub-Class: ?**

**Occupation: Guardian**

**HP: ?/?**

**MP: ?/?**

**STR: ?**

**DEX: ?**

**CON: ?**

**INT: ?**

**WIS: ?**

**CHA: ?**

**LCK: ?**

This was the first time that I'd ever seen Observe do something like this. Sure, the Portkey had those weird runes, but now it was just straight up saying that Observe couldn't tell me what I was looking at. _What the hell, Voice?_

"**This is most interesting, most interesting indeed. It seems that this being is… not a true homunculus. Usually, that word is used to describe a being with an artificial soul. Instead, it appears as if this tree-being has a human soul, and perhaps once inhabited a human body. Massive amounts of magic have been expended to transform the body, whilst keeping the soul intact, and this tree-being is the consequence. Hm… where's that button? Here we go."**

**Quest Added: [Forbidden Knowledge, or Forbidden Acts?]**

**[Forbidden Knowledge, or Forbidden Acts?]: Investigate the origins of the tree-being at the Montgomery Estate.**

**Rewards: ?, ?, ?, ?, ?**

"A Magical Creature? Hm… no, I don't think that's quite right." She replied. "I'm a Dryad, if you will. A soul tied to this tree, meant to protect this Estate by fueling the Wards which shield it from the Muggle World. I am connected to the forests surrounding the Estate, and draw upon their energy, then focus it into the Ward. Beneath my bark, you'd find the runes used in the ritual that command the Wards. In exchange for his assistance long ago, this is how I repay Roger, Lord Montgomery as you call him."

"How would that make you his daughter then?" I wondered, genuinely curious. "Were you always a Dryad, or is that just what you are now?" Cynthia paused a moment, looking at me with a weird expression. It was more than a little difficult to tell what it was though, considering her entire face was made of bark.

"You seem to be quite intelligent for a child, Orpheus. Teaching your sister wandless magic, asking hard questions like that, I didn't realize that my sister was raising such a prodigy. I shall answer you though. No, I was not always a Dryad. I was once a human, a squib. In this form, though, I am able to provide service and utility to House Montgomery which I never could have otherwise. I am the forest and the forest is me. So long as it stands, I live. So long as I live, I protect The House from intruders who might harm my family."

It was all I could do to keep myself from shuddering. Roger had Transfigured his squib daughter into… this thing so that she might be useful. Were the Montgomeries like other noble families that hid the existence of their squib children and siblings from the world to prevent shame from befalling the House?

**[Forbidden Knowledge, or Forbidden Arts?] updated.**

**[Forbidden Knowledge, or Forbidden Arts?]: Find out what caused Roger Montgomery to turn Cynthia Montgomery into the tree-being.**

**And that's it!**

**Packed a bit more content than I usually do into this chapter to make up for the... lackluster composition of last one. I hope that it's to everyone's liking.**

**Let me know what you thought through reviews or that handy, dandy (broken) PM system!**

**I've also got a Pat-reon over at pat-reon-dot-com-slash-orpheuskidwell**

**Orpheus out! See ya!**


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